Loyalists rally behind Mamata, say an ousted leader cannot lead Trinamool in Assembly

Loyalists of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee within the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday (June 3) said that an expelled leader such as Ritabrata Banerjee cannot function as their Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. This comes after 58 Trinamool MLAs joined hands with Mr. Banerjee and defected from the party and declared themselves the principal Opposition party in the house. They also declared Mr. Banerjee their Leader of the Opposition. 

“The MLAs who won are all Trinamool candidates and have used the image of Ms. Mamata Banerjee to win. She has worked hard to make these MLAs win. Now, an expelled leader cannot be the head of a political party,” senior Trinamool MLA Kunal Ghosh said, criticising the 58 MLAs who have rallied behind Mr. Banerjee. 

Mr. Ghosh further added that “Ms. Banerjee is the original Trinamool Congress” — the leader who gave birth to the party. “She is the Maa of Trinamool,” Mr. Ghosh said. 

Mr. Banerjee along with MLA Sandipan Saha were expelled from the party on Monday on allegations of “anti-party activities”. 

After the rift in the party, senior leader and Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee said that “people who stand by Ms. Mamata Banerjee today will continue to stand by her in the future”. 

“Those who chose to betray Didi today will ultimately be judged by the people. Their actions only reinforce the perception that they are no different from the BJP,” Mr. Kalyan Banerjee wrote. He further added that the true strength of the Trinamool lies in the grassroots workers of the party. 

Other supporters of Ms. Mamata Banerjee too echoed the sentiment. “Trinamool means Ms. Mamata Banerjee and people. People and Ms. Mamata Banerjee are both with the Trinamool,” MP Dola Sen said while on her way to attend a meeting at Ms. Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat. 

Speaking on similar lines, Trinamool’s Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra and other old loyalists of the party said that their party has only one leader and that is Ms. Mamata Banerjee. “What others are saying is not something I concern myself with,” Mr. Mitra said. 

Party units dissolved 

Earlier in the day, in an effort to curb dissent, Trinamool dissolved all party units across West Bengal. All frontal organisations run by the Trinamool also stood dissolved, the party said, highlighting the need for a massive overhaul after a humiliating electoral loss on May 4. 

“The party will undertake a comprehensive exercise of introspection, performance review and organisational assessment at every level. Based on the findings of this exercise, the organisational structure of the parent body and all frontal organisations will be reconstituted and announced in due course,” the Trinamool said in an official statement on their social media platforms. 

However, the developments led to rumours in the State and its political circles that the Trinamool party has been dissolved. However, Mr Ghosh said that the party continues to exist and that the rumours of it being dissolved are false. “The various committees of the Trinamool Congress have been dissolved, not the party itself,” Mr Ghosh said. He added that they are set to reimagine their structures and will set up the committees and local bodies in the coming days.