Key facts
- Senior TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay met Union Minister Bhupender Yadav.
- TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh criticized Bandyopadhyay for weakening the party.
- Abhishek Banerjee urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to reject recognition of any separate TMC faction.
- A faction of TMC MPs reportedly plans to seek separate recognition from the Lok Sabha Speaker.
- 64 out of 80 TMC MLAs have broken away in the state Assembly and received recognition.
Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay's meeting with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi has intensified speculation about internal turmoil within the TMC. Bandyopadhyay, accompanied by rebel MP Shatabdi Roy, met Yadav, a move that has raised questions about his potential alignment with a dissident TMC group.
This development occurs as a faction of TMC MPs plans to approach Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to seek recognition as the 'real TMC'. Rebel MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia claimed that 19 out of the party's 28 Lok Sabha members support this breakaway faction. The leader of this group, Kakoli Ghosh Dasdidar, has indicated that once recognized, they would support the BJP-led NDA in Parliament.
Political observers consider the meeting significant given Bandyopadhyay's senior standing in the TMC and his role as a liaison with the central government. His engagement with a senior BJP strategist is being closely watched for implications on West Bengal politics and the future of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.
Adding to the party's internal strife, a substantial number of TMC MLAs, 64 out of 80, have already broken away in the state Assembly and received recognition from Speaker Rathindra Bose, with Ritabrata Banerjee named Leader of Opposition. However, the Mamata-led faction has challenged this recognition in the Calcutta High Court.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh sharply criticized Bandyopadhyay's actions, attributing them to a 'lust for power and position' and suggesting it led to other leaders defecting to the BJP. He also sarcastically noted Bandyopadhyay's absence when Mamata Banerjee's residence was raided, contrasting it with his current engagement with the BJP. BJP minister Tapas Roy echoed similar sentiments, labeling Bandyopadhyay and Roy as 'liabilities' to the TMC who align with those in power for self-preservation.
In response to potential moves by dissenting MPs, Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party Leader Abhishek Banerjee wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to decline recognition and status to any separate group or faction of the party. Banerjee requested that the Speaker afford the TMC an opportunity to be heard before any decision is made and stated that the party reserves its rights to initiate proceedings under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.