Kolkata: Ritabrata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA from Uluberia East, who staked claim to the Leader of Opposition (LoP) seat in the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday with the backing of 58 out of 80 MLAs, declared that no MLA would be treated as a servant but all would be given equal status. He also pointed to Abhishek Banerjee as the primary reason behind the party's decline, which led them to break away and form a new unit.
Decentralized Leadership Structure
“I am not a boss. I do not believe in boss-ism. This new Trinamool Congress legislative party has no single leader. This is an entire team. Here nobody is a master or a servant. Somebody has to be given a designation, so we have a leader and deputies. But this is a team of 58 MLAs. Two more MLAs are currently outside the state. Once they communicate their consent, the number will become 60,” said Banerjee while addressing reporters shortly after Speaker Rathindra Bose accepted their claim and handed over the keys to the Leader of Opposition's office to Banerjee.
Banerjee announced a decentralized leadership structure for the faction: Akruzzaman was appointed the chief whip, accompanied by four deputy leaders of opposition— Javed Ahmed Khan (Kasba), Sabina Yeasmin (Sujapur), Seuli Saha (Keshpur), and Sandipan Saha (Entally).
Appeal to Mamata Banerjee
The rebels explicitly appealed to Mamata Banerjee to distance herself from the current party management and steer their assembly faction instead. “We request Mamata Banerjee to remain our adviser. If we receive her advice, we will be able to do constructive work even better,” Sandipan Saha said on the sidelines of the press meet, adding they would formally write to her requesting her to give them margdarshan (guidance).
No Place for Abhishek Banerjee
The rebel bloc, however, said there was no place for Abhishek Banerjee in the party. “Abhishek is not at all associated with this legislative party. In fact, Abhishek is no way connected to the people of Bengal. That is why he did not come out of his house for 26 days and when he came out, he was beaten like a thief. He has no place here,” Banerjee said.
Rebel MLA Seuli Saha also fiercely defended their allegiance to the party matriarch: “We are soldiers of Mamata. We are, and will remain so, unless Didi herself kicks us out. But when we see that the party has gone into somebody else’s hands, then we are compelled to take such a decision.”
Criticism of Party Leadership
Other rebel MLAs were also vocal about the high-handedness of political strategy groups and party seniors ignoring party loyalists for years. Chief whip Akruzzaman slammed the official party leadership for letting the situation deteriorate. “Today, the Trinamool Congress has become a laughing stock. Trinamool does not even know how to elect the leader of its legislative party. That is why we have stepped forward to save the face of Trinamool. We are not defectors but are actually saviours of the party,” he said.
Promises of Constructive Opposition
As the assembly prepares to convene on June 18, the rebel group has promised a radical shift away from traditional, disruptive opposition politics. They explicitly stated they would eschew traditional assembly walkouts. “On the question of opposing the BJP, we may vote against Bills. But we will not walk out,” Ritabrata clarified, promising to praise the ruling government’s welfare schemes while fiercely resisting any administrative overreach.
However, Akruzzaman issued a stern warning regarding political vendettas: “We will request Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari that the atmosphere of terror prevailing across Bengal, the false cases... must be stopped. If this does not stop, then we will continue with our protests even after the assembly session begins on June 18.”
