Days after 60 TMC MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee revolted against the Mamata Banerjee-led party’s leadership, and sought reorganisation of the rebel faction as the legitimate Trinamool Congress (TMC), cracks are already appearing within the camp.
Several TMC MLAs, who had hopped on the camp led by CPM-turned-TMC leader Ritabrata, are now developing a sense of buyer’s remorse. The bone of contention is whether Mamata will remain the leader or not. And, even as Ritabrata’s faction is grappling with internal dissent, Mamata is moving to exploit the divisions in the rebel camp.
From personally calling the rebels to reaching out to Muslim MLAs wary of Ritabrata’s perceived proximity to the BJP, the TMC chief appears determined to weaken the rebellion from within. And, she might still have a few cards left to play.
The Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebellion had, at least initially, come on the verge of success. It managed to rally a majority of the TMC’s 80 elected MLAs against the decision of the party’s top brass to appoint Sobhandeb Chattopadhay as the Leader of Opposition (LoP).
Ritabrata’s mutiny, having already elevated him to the LoP, started to acquire the trappings of a full-blown coup, with rebel MLAs declaring their rejection of Abhishek Banerjee’s leadership (who has already borne the brunt of the blame for the TMC’s electoral wipeout). Ritabrata, for his part, declared that Mamata could stay on in the new TMC as the “prodhan poramorshodata” (chief advisor).
Now, with many of Ritabrata’s compatriots questioning themselves over their loyalty to the party’s matriarch, Mamata is moving swiftly to weaken the rebellion from within.
MAMATA’s OUTREACH TO MUSLIM MLAs
Of the 80 MLAs elected on the TMC ticket in the 2026 Assembly polls, 31 are Muslims. Unsurprisingly, the Ritabrata-led rebellion has fractured this group just like the rest of the party.
Some MLAs, like Sabina Yasmin and Javed Khan, stepped forward as primary leaders of the mutiny, taking up roles as Deputy Leaders of Ritabrata’s new legislative faction. Akhruzzaman also joined the rebel camp, landing the role of Chief Whip. Others, like Firhad Hakim, remain loyal to party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
It is exactly these Muslim MLAs that Mamata and her allies are now dialling up to claw back support.
“Mamata’s veteran political managers have launched an aggressive counter-poaching campaign, directly calling up vulnerable first-time and rural (mostly Muslim) MLAs from the rebel camp,” Kolkata-based daily The Telegraph reported.
What makes this counter-offensive so potent is a growing anxiety among the rebels that Ritabrata, frequently labelled a “habitual turncoat”, might start courting the BJP for support.
“Why is he suddenly all-important now? It was a collective effort…” a rebel South Bengal MLA, who had signed the letter to the Speaker facilitating Ritabrata’s ascent, told The Telegraph.
“Is he to be considered a chief ministerial candidate by a credible Opposition in the future? Then we are not part of that future. We did not get rid of Abhishek Banerjee’s high-handedness to replace it with a saffron-backed Ritabrata.”
While Ritabrata’s ultimate political direction remains to be seen, this unease over his perceived proximity to the saffron camp gives Mamata a potent lever. Given the large number of Muslim legislators who initially backed the revolt, exploiting fears of a BJP alliance could be the very tool she needs to shatter the rebellion from within.
APPEALS TO PERSONAL LOYALTY
The biggest risk that Ritabrata Banerjee’s mutiny faces is whether or not Mamata Banerjee will remain the party’s supremo, or be reduced to the status of a figurehead “chief advisor”.
Ritabrata, for his part, would rather Mamata be reduced to an advisor role. Others in his camp, looks like, would like to differ.
“A leader is a completely different thing, the supreme — what everyone calls a guardian. ‘Prodhan poramorshodata’ means someone who assists from the outside, superficially. If Mamata Banerjee is not kept as the supreme leader, we will have to rethink this whole thing,” rebel MLA Gulshan Mullick was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
Another rebel MLA, Sangeeta Roy Basunia of Sitai, echoed the sentiment. “Mamata Banerjee is our supreme leader and will remain so. She cannot be an adviser. She is our leader,” Basunia was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
The Telegraph reported that at least 12 of the 58 rebel MLAs have declared their intent to retain Mamata as their supreme leader. It is these legislators that Mamata is now personally dialling up in an effort to avert an all-out rebellion.
“The callers [Mamata’s political managers] are reminding the breakaway MLAs of the legal uncertainty ahead. Trinamool is preparing to challenge the Speaker’s decisions in the Supreme Court. And the certainty of the immediate, street-level backlash waiting for them back home [constituencies],” reported The Telegraph.
“She [Mamata] has personally spoken to several of them, making emotional appeals coupled with warnings of what might happen to them when she takes this to the Supreme Court and sees success,” a Trinamool insider told the Kolkata-based daily.
Sources in the party told news agency PTI that Mamata has over the past two days spoken to several rebel MLAs from Howrah, Murshidabad and North Dinajpur districts.
“She is speaking to legislators individually and asking them to attend a meeting at Kalighat on Friday. The effort is to keep communication channels open and explore the possibility of reconciliation,” a senior TMC leader told PTI.
REBELS UNDER PRESSURE AS MAMATA STRIKES BACK
It is true that the ringleaders of the revolt are already finding themselves on the receiving end of public backlash.
On Thursday, a large crowd, which also included among their ranks BJP leader Priyanka Tibrewal and her supporters, turned up in front of rebel MLA Sandipan Saha’s Entally residence and raised cries of ‘chor-chor (thief)’, according to local reports.
Meanwhile, speaking to India Today TV, firebrand TMC MP Mahua Moitra ripped into the mutiny, describing it as a creation of the BJP, branding the rebel MLAs as “completely useless” leaders who thrived on Mamata Banerjee’s charisma but had “lost the stomach” to fight from the opposition benches.
Ritabrata’s camp, however, remains unconcerned about their mutiny collapsing for the time being. Sources close to Ritabrata told The Telegraph that he remains “fully worry-free” and that the issue of dissent over the future status of Mamata was a minor, predictable hiccup that would resolve itself.
“One simply cannot swim against the tide and win in this instance. They will say these things for a few days, and then inevitably fall in line. They know what they are up against,” a rebel TMC leader told The Telegraph. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Ritabrata brushed away all suggestions that the rebellion would fail. “I will say only one thing, our numbers will keep increasing,” he was quoted by news agency ANI as saying on Friday.
Mamata Banerjee, for her part, has chosen to project an air of detachment, at least publicly.
At this juncture, one thing is clear, the veteran politician who built the TMC into West Bengal‘s dominant political force for a decade and a half, has more than a few cards left to play.
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