- By Aditya Jha
- Wed, 03 Jun 2026 01:47 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
State Bureau, Kolkata: In a major setback for former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, 58 MLAs of Trinamool Congress (TMC) have reportedly extended their support to the expelled legislators Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha. As per reports, the newly-elected rebel MLAs are backing Ritabrata and have conveyed their decision to West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose on Wednesday. However, the rebel group has recognised Mamata Banerjee as the party chief, signalling that their battle is not against the former chief minister.
The rebel MLAs have named Ritabrata Banerjee as the legislature party leader, reported news agency PTI, citing sources. Apart from this, the legislators have also proposed the names of Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Shiuli Saha as deputy leaders and Akhruzzaman as the chief whip of the party.
With their decision to recognise Mamata Banerjee as the party chief, the rebel MLAs have clarified that their fight is against the existing legislature party leadership. Apart from this, the group has also clarified that they do not want party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's interruption in deciding the affairs of the legislature party, reported PTI.
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Earlier on Monday, the TMC expelled Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha from the party on charges of anti-party activities. The next big test for the rebel group is to pass the floor test as a faction requires the support of at least two-thirds of a legislature party to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law.
In case of TMC, the required number is 54 as the party could manage to win 80 of the total 294 seats in the election. If the reports of 58 MLAs backing the rebel leaders turn true, the faction would easily cross the mark.
While talking to the reporters, TMC senior leader Kunal Ghosh stated that the issue could have been resolved through discussion. "If they had any issues, they could have discussed them within the party. Instead, they chose to backstab the party," he told reporters.