New Delhi:
The rebel faction within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has announced that it has “removed” Mamata Banerjee as the party’s chairperson and installed a parallel leadership structure.
The dissident group, led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, claimed it had secured the support of a significant section of the party’s legislators and functionaries. Among the claims was that several of Mamata Banerjee’s close associates, including former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, had joined the rebel camp.
The developments unfolded on Monday, the same day the newly formed BJP government presented its first budget in the West Bengal Assembly. Shortly after, dissident Trinamool MLAs convened a meeting at a five-star hotel in New Town area of Kolkata. According to the rebel faction, around 500 Trinamool leaders had joined the Special Session, including sitting and former MLAs, district presidents, and councillors.
At that meeting, the rebels announced the formation of a 30-member National Working Committee, positioning it as the legitimate organisational core of what they described as the “real” Trinamool Congress.
Parallel Leadership Structure
At the centre of the rebellion is an attempt to seize control of the party founded by Mamata Banerjee in 1998. The rebel faction elected MLA Arup Roy as chairperson by voice vote.
Senior leaders were quickly assigned roles in the new structure. Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin were named vice presidents. Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha were appointed general secretaries, while Akhruzzaman Ansari was designated treasurer.
“The special session of TMC leaders and members unanimously elected Arup Roy as party chairperson,” Ritabrata Banerjee said after the meeting.
Seeking to bolster the legitimacy of the move, he said the proceedings had followed the party’s constitution and would be formally communicated to the Election Commission.
“It is not about what is real or not real. We are TMC and will inform the Election Commission about today’s special session proceedings,” he said. “We have functioned and convened this special session as per the norms. It is for the EC to decide what is wrong or right. We will soon constitute the district committees, the state unit and a panel of spokespersons.”
“If Mamata Banerjee wants to be the chief advisor, she is most welcome,” he added.
The Messaging
While the Trinamool’s party symbol was prominently displayed, notably absent were images of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
Rebel leaders described the gathering as a response a “constitutional crisis” within the organisation.
Ritabrata Banerjee argued that the party’s constitution required a national working committee to be reconstituted every three years. The last such body, he said, had been formed in February 2022 and not renewed after its tenure expired.
An initial panel of leaders, including Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Biplab Mitra, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Sabina Yasmin, Sandipan Saha, Rathin Ghosh, Javed Khan and Ritabrata Banerjee, was constituted before being expanded to 30 members. The faction also announced that it would appoint an auditor to examine party finances.
Disciplinary Action
As the rebels moved to formalise their structure, the official Trinamool leadership initiated disciplinary proceedings against several leaders associated with the dissident camp.
The party’s disciplinary committee issued show-cause notices to Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Arup Roy, Javed Khan, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra, Snehasis Chakraborty, Sabina Yasmin and others for “deliberately indulging in anti-party activities”.
