Rebel MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha claim support from 58 TMC legislators.
The faction has proposed Ritabrata as Leader of the Opposition and may avoid anti-defection provisions.
The developments have intensified the TMC's internal crisis and drawn comparisons with the 2022 Shiv Sena split.
Expelled MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha have submitted a letter to West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose claiming the support of 58 party lawmakers. The letter also proposes Ritabrata's name as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
The rebel MLAs have enough support to ensure that they do not run afoul of the anti-defection law, which requires backing from at least two-thirds of a party's legislative strength. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) currently has 80 MLAs in the Assembly. This means that, in the event of a split, the Ritabrata faction could stake a strong claim to the TMC's name and symbol.
The unfolding situation is the deepest internal crisis the party has faced since its inception in 1998.
The developments in West Bengal are drawing parallels with the events in Maharashtra in 2022, when a rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde split Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena.
Signature Forgery Allegations
The crisis within the TMC had been brewing since its defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, with multiple leaders reportedly becoming dissatisfied with the party leadership.
However, the situation escalated after Ritabrata and Saha alleged that Abhishek Banerjee had forged the signatures of MLAs at a party meeting held on May 6, which elected Mamata loyalist Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition.
The two MLAs were expelled from the TMC just 15 minutes after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, at a press conference, revealed their names and said that the Speaker had received a formal complaint from the rebel leaders.
After their expulsion, the two rebel MLAs were reportedly in contact with several TMC legislators.
According to India Today, Ritabrata Banerjee openly challenged Abhishek Banerjee's leadership.
'Mir Jafars'
Addressing the growing unrest within the party, Mamata Banerjee labelled the rebel MLAs as "Mir Jafars" while speaking at a protest in Esplanade.
Banerjee claimed that party legislators were not being allowed to leave their homes and were being forced to abandon the TMC.
However, Mamata's support base within the party appeared to be shrinking, with only eight TMC MLAs accompanying her at the protest. Among them were Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Firhad Hakim, and Kunal Ghosh, party stalwarts considered part of the TMC's old guard.
Four TMC MPs also participated in the protest in Kolkata against the alleged attack on TMC leaders.
Tapas Roy, who was associated with the TMC until 2024, added fuel to the fire by claiming that more than 50 MLAs could switch sides in a scenario similar to what occurred in Maharashtra.
