Rebel TMC Faction Names Arup Roy as 'Real' TMC Chairperson

Mamata Banerjee (File photo)

NEW DELHI: The rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by West Bengal's leader of the opposition and Uluberia Purba MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, on Monday named senior party MLA Arup Roy as the chairperson of what it described as the "real" TMC. "Members unanimously elected Arup Roy as chairperson. If Mamata Banerjee wants to be our chief advisor, she is most welcome," Ritabrata Banerjee said at a press conference later. "We are TMC and will inform Election Commission about today's special session proceedings," he added. The decision to appoint Roy was taken at a special session held at a five-star hotel in Kolkata's New Town, attended by rebel legislators, councillors and former elected representatives from several districts. The Howrah Central MLA was elected chairperson by voice vote. Trinamool was founded by Mamata Banerjee in January 1998 after she quit the Congress. She had led the party since its inception and served as West Bengal chief minister for 15 years before the TMC was voted out of power in the assembly elections in April.

Mamata's former aide Firhad Hakim joins rebel camp

Meanwhile, the rebel faction also announced a new national working committee comprising Roy, Ritabrata Banerjee, one-time Mamata Banerjee aide and former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Biplab Mitra, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Sabina Yasmin, Sandipan Saha, Rathin Ghosh, and Javed Khan. Firhad Hakim, Arup 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 named treasurer. The faction also resolved to appoint an auditor to examine the party's finances.

Sending a message to Mamata?

The backdrop itself underscored the political messaging of the gathering. While the TMC's party symbol remained prominently displayed, portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, and BR Ambedkar adorned the stage. Conspicuously absent were photographs of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, long seen as her political successor and blamed by many dissidents as the reason for their revolt. After TMC's defeat, 58 of its 80 MLAs backed Ritabrata Banerjee's claim to the post of leader of the opposition, rejecting the nominee favoured by the Mamata Banerjee camp. The rebels have since asserted that their strength in the assembly has risen to around 65 legislators. The turmoil has extended beyond the state assembly. In Parliament, the party recently suffered another setback when 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha MPs broke away from the TMC parliamentary party and merged with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), while extending support to the BJP-led NDA. The BJP, which heads the Union government, is now also in power in West Bengal, marking its first-ever government in the state.(With PTI inputs)