TMC rift deepens as Sudip backs rebel MPs

The internal crisis within the Trinamool Congress intensified on Sunday as Sudip Bandyopadhyay, a close associate of Mamata Banerjee, expressed support for the rebel faction. Dissident Members of Parliament (MPs) met with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav at his residence before requesting the Lok Sabha Speaker to recognise them as the legitimate Trinamool Congress (TMC) parliamentarians.

Bandyopadhyay stated that he decided to align with the dissident group following appeals from rebel MPs and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). He further clarified that he had not yet signed the letter addressed to Speaker Om Birla and would do so only in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

The MPs met with Yadav in Delhi to strategise ahead of their scheduled meeting with Speaker Birla on Monday. This development followed Bandyopadhyay’s decision to join the rebel camp after holding discussions with Amit Shah and Bhupender Yadav in Delhi, despite his reputation as one of Mamata Banerjee’s closest confidants.”I had a meeting with Amit Shah,” Bandyopadhyay told reporters on Sunday.

“Most of the MPs and MLAs wanted this effort to succeed. They wanted the party to keep going with Mamata Banerjee as chief advisor and leader. Their request truly moved me. So, I decided to stay with them,” he said. However, Bandyopadhyay said he still had not signed the letter for Birla.”I will sign only in the presence of the Chief Minister,” he said.

Meanwhile, MPs Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy arrived in Delhi before the other TMC MP, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, indicated that internal discussions were ongoing within the party.

Leader of the dissident group, Lok Sabha member Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, indicated that discussions were underway within the party. Rebel MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia announced that the dissident group would meet Speaker Birla on Monday to seek recognition as the ‘real TMC’ parliamentary group. “We have submitted the letter. On Monday, we will go to the speaker to claim the formation of the real TMC parliamentary group. We will ask the speaker to recognise our claim,” he said.

However, the TMC faction, loyal to former CM Mamata Banerjee, has rejected the rebels’ claim, saying the anti-defection law does not allow a separate group in Parliament. Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said there is ‘no legal provision’ for a separate group and argued that MPs could be disqualified unless their original party merges with another party under the Tenth Schedule.

“The crucial condition is that the original party has to merge with another party. There is no legal provision for a ‘separate group’ inside Parliament or an assembly while sitting on an MP or MLA seat won on the original party’s name and symbol,” she said in a post on X on Sunday.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra criticised Bandyopadhyay, questioning his account of his whereabouts before he was seen at Yadav’s residence in Delhi.

Meanwhile, Ghosh Dastidar stated on Sunday that two additional parliamentarians were expected to join the dissident group, thereby increasing its strength. She made these remarks to reporters at the Kolkata airport before departing for Delhi. “We are going to Delhi for a meeting. Twenty-two MPs are with us. The speaker has given us time. We will meet him on Monday and ask to be recognised as a separate bloc,” Ghosh Dastidar said, without naming the latest defectors.

The TMC has been grappling with a major rebellion among its legislators and parliamentarians since its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.