Mamata Banerjee loyalist Anubrata Mandal joins TMC rebel camp

In a setback for the Trinamool Congress, senior party leader and Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mandal on Saturday joined the rebel camp, marking a significant political development in West Bengal.

Leader of the Opposition, Ritabrata Banerjee, announced Anubrata Mandal's induction and appointed him as the Birbhum district president of the rebel camp. The move is expected to alter the political dynamics in the district, where Anubrata Mandal has long been regarded as one of the TMC's most influential leaders.

The development reportedly gathered pace on Friday after former West Bengal Deputy Speaker Ashish Bandyopadhyay, who has already joined the Ritabrata camp, met the Leader of the Opposition at the Assembly. According to sources, a legislator from the rebel camp later contacted Mandal, during which his induction and proposed organisational role were discussed. Mandal is said to have agreed to the proposal.

For years, Anubrata Mandal has been regarded as one of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's closest political associates and one of the Trinamool Congress's most influential leaders in Birbhum. Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly stood by him during political controversies and legal challenges, publicly defending him on several occasions.

Mandal, too, had remained fiercely loyal to the TMC leadership for years, often reiterating that Mamata Banerjee was the party's undisputed face. However, following the recent Assembly elections, he began expressing differences on certain political decisions. He publicly suggested that the party should not have antagonised the Congress and indicated that he would reconsider his political future if he was not accorded due respect.

While the rebel camp is expected to formally announce Mandal's induction on Saturday, neither he nor the Trinamool Congress has officially commented on the development.

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