TMC rebel camp appoints Arup as faction chairperson

In a dramatic escalation of the battle for control of the TMC, the party’s rebel faction, led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, on Monday convened a special session in Kolkata, and named senior MLA Arup Roy as the chairperson of what it described as the “real” Trinamool Congress.

The move marked the most direct organisational challenge yet to party supremo and founder chairperson Mamata Banerjee, whose authority over the organisation has come under increasing strain, following successive rebellions within the party’s legislative and parliamentary wings after the TMC’s defeat in the Assembly elections.

Held at a five-star hotel in New Town, the special session brought together rebel MLAs, councillors and former elected representatives from several districts.

The backdrop itself underscored the political messaging of the gathering. While the TMC party symbol remained prominently displayed, portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and BR Ambedkar adorned the stage.

Notably absent were photographs of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who have long been the central faces of the party.

The rebel camp claimed the meeting was convened to address what it termed a “constitutional crisis” within the organisation.

Addressing the session, Ritabrata Banerjee argued that the party’s constitution mandated the formation of a national working committee every three years and that the last such panel had been constituted in February 2022.

“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,” a leader present at the meeting quoted Banerjee as saying.

The gathering swiftly moved to constitute a new national working committee, beginning with an initial panel of leaders that included Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Biplab Mitra, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Sabina Yasmin, Sandipan Saha, Rathin Ghosh, Javed Khan and Ritabrata Banerjee.

The committee subsequently expanded to 30 members. Soon afterwards, Arup Roy, the veteran MLA from Howrah Central, was elected chairperson by voice vote. Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin were named vice-chairpersons, while Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha were appointed general secretaries. Akhruzzaman Ansari was later announced as treasurer. The faction also resolved to appoint an auditor to examine the party’s finances.

Several prominent leaders associated with the rebel bloc attended the session, including Hakim, Biswas and legislators from Birbhum and Murshidabad districts. Sources in the camp claimed that around 60 MLAs and a large number of councillors, including many from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, either attended or endorsed the proceedings. The organisational exercise comes amid a deepening crisis within the TMC, which has witnessed an unprecedented split in its elected ranks since losing power in West Bengal after 15 years.

Only days ago, 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs backed Ritabrata claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition, rejecting the choice favoured by the Mamata Banerjee-led leadership. The rebel camp has since claimed its strength in the assembly has risen to around 65 legislators.

The turmoil has not been confined to the state assembly.

In Parliament, the party recently suffered another setback when 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha MPs reportedly broke away from the TMC Parliamentary Party and merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), while extending support to the BJP-led NDA.

Monday’s special session appeared to be aimed at transforming what began as a legislative rebellion into an organisational restructuring exercise.

Political observers noted that the rebel camp is seeking to build a case that it represents continuity of the party’s elected base, while simultaneously arguing that organisational norms have not been followed by the existing leadership.

The symbolism of replacing Mamata Banerjee’s image with national icons, coupled with the formal election of a new chairperson and office-bearers, reflected an attempt to project an alternative leadership structure rather than merely a dissident group within the party, they said.

For a party founded by Mamata Banerjee in 1998 and built around her political identity for nearly three decades, the developments mark an extraordinary moment.

Whether the rebel camp’s organisational claims withstand legal and political scrutiny remains uncertain, but Monday’s proceedings signalled that the struggle for ownership of the TMC has moved well beyond the legislature and into the party’s organisational heartland.