Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) remains caught in what is being seen as its biggest internal crisis yet, as resignations and dissent continue to grow, a month after the party was voted out of power in West Bengal, which it had governed for 15 years straight. Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik became the latest TMC leader to resign from his post in the Upper House of Parliament on Thursday.
While the party faces a wave of resignations, rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar alleged that nearly 20 party MPs had written to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla to convey their support for the BJP-led NDA.
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The troubles are not limited to the Lok Sabha. In the West Bengal assembly as well, Mamata Banerjee’s party appears to be moving towards a split. Last week, speaker Rathindra Nath Bose recognised 58 rebel TMC MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee as the main opposition group in the House.
Here is the complete list of TMC MPs who are reported to be aligned with the rebel camp in the Lok Sabha, along with the Rajya Sabha members who have resigned till now:
Lok Sabha MPs who are reportedly part of the rebel camp
A total of 14 MPs have reportedly backed the rebel group as signs of a party split continue to emerge, HT has learnt. More names were revealed in a PTI news agency report.
Here’s the full list:
- Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar (Barasat)
- Shatrughan Sinha (Asansol)
- Yusuf Pathan (Baharampur)
- Saayoni Ghosh (Jadavpur)
- Dev (Deepak Adhikari) (Ghatal)
- Arup Chakraborty (Bankura)
- Bapi Haldar (Mathurapur)
- Jagadish Basunia (Cooch Behar)
- Prasun Banerjee (Howrah)
- Sharmila Sarkar (Bardhaman Purba)
- Partha Bhowmick (Barrackpore)
- Asit Mal (Bolpur)
- Mitali Bag (Arambagh)
- Satabdi Roy (Birbhum)
- Mala Roy (Kolkata Dakshin)
- Abu Taher Khan (Murshidabad)
- Kalipada Soren (Jhargram)
- June Malia (Medinipur)
- Khalilur Rahaman (Jangipur)
- Rachna Banerjee (Hooghly)
Notably, Jaynagar MP Pratima Mondal’s name had also surfaced earlier among the signatories keen on joining the rebel camp. However, the TMC MP dismissed the claims and challenged members of the ‘rebel faction’ to present any document carrying her signature.
List of TMC Rajya Sabha MPs who have resigned
- Sukhendu Sekhar Ray
- Sushmita Dev
- Prakash Chik Baraik
Will TMC merge with Congress?
The growing divisions within the TMC have sparked speculation about a possible merger with the Congress, especially after Mamata Banerjee met Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday.
However, people familiar with the matter told HT on Wednesday that no proposal for a merger between the two parties is being considered and described such claims as baseless.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also said in a post on X: “Some news reports on what supposedly transpired in the meeting between Smt Sonia Gandhi and Ms. Mamata Banerjee are completely inaccurate. The meeting was very cordial and many personal matters were talked about, given the long relationship they have had.”
Rebel TMC leader Ritabrata Banerjee on Wednesday firmly ruled out any possibility of a merger between the dissident group and the Congress, saying that the developments currently unfolding are entirely an internal matter of the organisation.
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