The rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) faction, led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee on Monday announced the removal of Mamata Banerjee as the party’s chairperson and the suspension of Abhishek
Banerjee, while asserting that it is the “real Trinamool” and preparing to approach the Election Commission (EC) to stake its claim.
At a special session held in Kolkata, the dissident camp elected MLA Arup Roy as the new chairperson of the party. The faction also appointed former minister Aroop Biswas and MLAs Firhad Hakim, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin as vice-chairpersons.
Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha were named general secretaries, while Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman Ansari was appointed treasurer.
The move comes days after the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC expelled Ritabrata Banerjee for alleged anti-party activities. According to reports, the rebel camp’s meeting in New Town was attended by dozens of MLAs and Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillors, who said the gathering was convened to address a “constitutional crisis” within the organisation.
“The organisational structure was not renewed after the expiry of its tenure. Therefore, it became necessary to initiate the process of reconstituting the party’s national leadership,” Ritabrata Banerjee was quoted as saying.
Defending the legitimacy of the session, Ritabrata said the faction would formally inform the Election Commission about the decisions taken during the meeting.
“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, adding, “We have functioned and convened this special session as per the norms. It is for the EC to decide what is wrong or right.”
Despite the rebellion, Ritabrata struck a conciliatory note towards the former chief minister and said, “If Mamata Banerjee wants to be the chief advisor, she is most welcome.”
Reacting sharply, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh dismissed the developments, saying in a post on X: “It is a comedy show. A man who has been expelled from the TMC is holding a special session. The matter is in the court and we believe justice will be done. We do not give any importance to such comical behavior. TMC = Mamata Banerjee. All else is a circus”.
Thanking the rebel faction for electing him chairperson, Arup Roy said, “The House has nominated me today. Given the situation prevailing across West Bengal, we must stand by our workers and support them while facing these challenges.”
“That is why a new committee has been formed today. We have been fighting since 1998. We must continue to fight for the interests of the people. Our priority is to ensure the well-being of our workers and see that they can live and work with dignity and enjoy their rights and respect. We must remain focused on achieving our objectives,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ritabrata said: “No discussion concerning Abhishek Banerjee took place during today’s meeting.”
