'Adviser' Mamata at centre of cracks in rebel Trinamool camp

Not even 48 hours have passed since 60 rebel MLAs seized control of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislature party by defying party chief Mamata Banerjee, but cracks have started to appear in the Ritabrata Banerjee-led camp. At the centre of the dissent is the role of Mamata herself. A section within the rebel camp is unhappy with Ritabrata, who is now the Leader of the Opposition, relegating Mamata to the position of "chief adviser". They want her to remain as the supreme leader.

On Wednesday, after being recognised by the Assembly Speaker as the LoP, Ritabrata told reporters that he had no intention of splitting the Trinamool. In fact, in their letter to the Speaker, the rebel group mentioned that Mamata was the party chief. But Ritabrata's suggestion that Mamata function as an "adviser" is what seems to have led to the unease.

"We would request Mamata Banerjee to be our chief advisor to this opposition front," Ritabrata told reporters.

UNEASE IN REBEL TMC CAMP

The tensions within the rebel camp came out in the open after a meeting held by Ritabrata on Thursday. There are several MLAs in the rebel camp who still swear allegiance to Mamata, who built the party after breaking away from Congress in 1998.

In fact, Mamata was never the problem. Much of the anger of the rebel MLAs was directed at her nephew and the party's de facto No.2, Abhishek Banerjee, and his leadership style.

The 'Signgate', where several TMC MLAs alleged that their signatures were forged in a letter endorsing Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the LoP, only deepened their resentment against Abhishek.

Thus, even though 60 MLAs revolted against the leadership, several still do not want to forego their political and emotional association with Mamata.

"We were told that the party would continue under Mamata's leadership. She is not merely an adviser. We want the party to function under her leadership," PTI quoted rebel MLA Gulshan Mullick as saying.

Mullick even went to the extent of suggesting that some MLAs might even quit the Ritabrata-led bloc if Mamata was not accepted as the "supreme leader".

"If Mamata is not accepted as the supreme leader, then we will have to think whether we should remain in this bloc or not," he further said.

Sitai MLA Sangeeta Roy Basunia also echoed Mullick, rejecting the suggestion of relegating Mamata to an advisory role.

"Mamata Banerjee is our supreme leader and will remain so. She cannot be an adviser. She is our leader," Basunia told PTI.

BEHIND THE CRACKS IN RITABRATA-LED BLOC

In fact, the rebel MLAs, in their letter to the Speaker on Wednesday, mentioned that they recognised Mamata as the chairperson of the Trinamool.

The development highlights the core contradiction of the rebellion. The revolt, which was directed at the TMC's leadership, has now moved to a wider debate over Mamata's future role in the party.

In essence, by bringing out the unease in the rebel camp out in the open, MLAs like Basunia and Mullick are attempting to shield themselves from allegations that they were attempting to disintegrate the party.

After all, the Trinamool as a party was never built around any political ideology. The rebellion by Ritabrata was also not driven by any ideology or mass support, as was the case in the Shiv Sena in 2022. We have explained this in this article.

Political expert Saswati Sarkar predicted that the Ritabrata-led bloc might not last long.

"Too many contradictions. You can't call a living woman (Mamata) your leader and defy her instructions on major issues. At least you need the minimum clarity of saying that the election outcome has opened my eyes, people have rejected her, she is no longer my leader," Sarkar tweeted.

Nevertheless, the issue has emerged as Ritabrata's first challenge after taking over as LoP. It now remains to be seen if Ritabrata is able to resolve the contradiction, or his rebel bloc disintegrates. Undoubtedly, Mamata still remains a unifying factor in TMC.

- Ends