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NEW DELHI: Fresh signs of the deepening split within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) emerged on Tuesday when senior party leaders loyal to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, including MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay and Beliaghata MLA Kunal Ghosh, were left out of an all-party meeting convened by the West Bengal Assembly ahead of the Budget Session beginning on June 18. Instead, invitations were extended to legislators aligned with the rebel camp led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, underlining the shifting power equations within the House.The development is being seen as the clearest institutional acknowledgement yet of the growing strength of the dissident faction, which has challenged the authority of the TMC leadership inside the Assembly.According to Assembly sources, Chattopadhyay, the TMC’s official nominee for the post of Leader of the Opposition, did not receive an invitation to the all-party and Business Advisory Committee meetings held ahead of the session. Kunal Ghosh was also absent from the invite list.In contrast, members of the camp led by expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee were invited to participate. Banerjee was recently recognised by Speaker Rathindranath Basu as the Leader of the Opposition after securing the backing of a majority of TMC legislators.Political observers said the invite list reflected the new realities within the Assembly, where the rebel bloc has steadily expanded its influence and numerical strength. The meetings, which are traditionally held to discuss legislative business and floor coordination before a session begins, assumed greater significance this time because of the ongoing contest over who commands the opposition benches.Tuesday’s developments come only days after a dramatic revolt within the TMC legislature party. Fifty-eight of the party’s 80 MLAs defied the leadership and backed Banerjee’s claim to the Leader of the Opposition post, rejecting the party high command’s choice of Chattopadhyay.Since then, the rebel camp’s numbers have reportedly grown further, with as many as 65 legislators now supporting Banerjee, strengthening his position within the Assembly and further isolating the party leadership.The all-party meeting was attended by representatives of several opposition parties, including ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui, Am Janata Unnayan Party MLA Humayun Kabir and CPI(M) MLA Mustafizur Rahaman.The Assembly turmoil is unfolding alongside a parallel crisis for the TMC at the national level.In Parliament, the party recently suffered a major setback when 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha MPs reportedly broke away from the TMC Parliamentary Party and decided to merge with the National Citizens Party of India (NCPI) while extending support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.Taken together, the rebellions in both the Assembly and Parliament have significantly weakened the TMC leadership’s hold over its elected representatives and raised fresh questions about the party’s organisational cohesion.With the Budget Session set to begin on June 18, focus is now expected to shift to the Assembly floor, where the altered opposition arithmetic could translate into a more formal realignment of political forces in the days ahead.
