TMC crisis deepens as Sudip backs rebels, MPs prepare to meet speaker

The crisis within the Trinamool Congress deepened on Sunday, 14 June as senior leader and Mamata Banerjee confidant Sudip Bandyopadhyay threw his weight behind the rebel camp, while dissident MPs met Union minister Bhupender Yadav in Delhi ahead of a planned move to seek recognition as the "real TMC" parliamentary group from Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla.

Bandyopadhyay said he had decided to remain with the dissident faction after appeals from rebel MPs and MLAs. However, he clarified that he was yet to sign the letter that will be submitted to the Speaker and would do so only in the presence of West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, who they are expected to meet later in the evening.

Earlier in the day, the MPs met Yadav at his residence in Delhi to finalise their strategy ahead of Monday's meeting with Birla. The meeting came a day after Bandyopadhyay, long regarded as one of Mamata Banerjee's closest associates, joined the rebel camp following discussions with Union home minister Amit Shah and Yadav in Delhi.

"I had a meeting with Amit Shah," Bandyopadhyay told reporters on Sunday. "Most of the MPs and MLAs wanted this to be a successful initiative. They wanted the party to continue under the guidance of Mamata Banerjee, with her playing a role similar to that of a chief adviser and party leader. Their appeal genuinely touched me. Therefore, I decided that I could continue to stay with them."

At the same time, Bandyopadhyay reiterated that he had not yet signed the letter to be submitted to Birla. "I will sign only in the presence of Suvendu Adhikari," he said.

Meanwhile, MPs Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy, who arrived in Delhi ahead of the rebels' meeting with the speaker, declined to comment on the developments. "I will answer the people of my constituency, not to you," Ghosh told reporters at the airport.

Another TMC MP, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, suggested that discussions were continuing within the party. "We will sit and talk today," she said when asked about the meeting at Yadav's residence.

As the crisis escalated, the TMC carried out a fresh organisational reshuffle, removing Ghosh, Roy and Bandyopadhyay from key party posts. Arnab Banerjee was appointed president of the Trinamool Youth Congress, replacing Ghosh, while Kaliganj MLA Alifa Ahmed took over as president of the party's women's wing in place of Roy.

In another significant organisational change, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh was appointed president of the party's north Kolkata organisational district, replacing Bandyopadhyay. The party also named MP Saugata Roy as chief adviser to its Lok Sabha wing, which now comprises MPs who remain loyal to Mamata Banerjee.

Earlier, rebel MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia said the dissident group would meet Birla on Monday and seek recognition as the "real TMC" parliamentary group. "We have submitted the letter. On Monday, we will go to the speaker and stake our claim to form the real TMC parliamentary group. We will ask the speaker to give recognition to our claim," he said.

The TMC has rejected the rebels' argument, maintaining that the anti-defection law does not permit the formation of a separate group within Parliament. Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said there was "no legal provision" for such an arrangement and argued that MPs could face disqualification unless their original political party merged with another party under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule.

"The crucial condition is that the original party has to merge with another party. There is no legal provision for a 'separate group' inside Parliament or an assembly while sitting on an MP or MLA seat won on the original party's name and symbol," she said in a post on X. "The law is clear. No separate group inside the House on the same symbol is legal. Merge with a new party or be disqualified."

In another post, she said: "Fair-weather 'politicians' who enjoy the fruits of collective success but abandon the collective the moment challenges arise, reveal a horrible moral and ethical deficit." She also urged the rebel MPs to "do the right thing: resign your seat".

TMC MP Mahua Moitra took a swipe at Bandyopadhyay, questioning his explanation regarding his whereabouts before he was seen at Yadav's residence in Delhi.

Meanwhile, Ghosh Dastidar claimed that two more parliamentarians were set to join the dissident camp, taking its strength in the Lok Sabha to 22. Speaking to reporters at Kolkata airport before leaving for Delhi, she said: "We are going to Delhi for a meeting. Twenty-two MPs are with us. The Speaker has given us time. We will meet him on Monday and seek recognition as a separate bloc." She declined to reveal the names of the latest defectors.

The TMC has been grappling with a major rebellion among its legislators and parliamentarians since its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections in early-May.

With PTI inputs