TMC’s Lok Sabha rebels waiting for a senior MP to join ranks

It has been three days since the TMC implosion in the Lok Sabha began, prompting claims and counterclaims on who is on the list of rebels. One of the reasons why the rebels have not written to Birla yet is the wait for a “political heavyweight”, sources said, adding that this would boost the “credibility” of the rebel camp and add heft to its challenge against Mamata Banerjee.

What Kakoli said

Senior TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who is leading the mutiny, has claimed that 20 out of 28 Trinamool MLAs in Lok Sabha want to be recognised as a separate bloc and align with the NDA. Asked what pushed the Trinamool MPs into rebellion, she told The Indian Express, “There was rampant corruption, misgovernance and there was no democracy. We have left the party because we want to survive in public life and continue in public service.”

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Asked what the plan ahead for the rebels is, she replied, “As of now we have decided to be with the NDA, giving it full support. Later, we (rebel MPs)  will sit together and decide what kind of support it should be.”

Sources said the rebel camp has two-thirds of the Trinamool’s numbers in Lok Sabha, keeping them outside the purview of the anti-defection law.

Old guard speaks out

As the meltdown in Trinamool ranks spirals, two veteran leaders have spoken out against the role of Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s leadership, but stressed that they stand with her.

Saugata Roy has flagged Abhishek Banerjee’s “highhandedness” and said the Trinamool chief needs to address it. Kalyan Banerjee has targeted Abhishek Banerjee after the latter dropped him as lawyer, saying Mamata Banerjee “must choose between Abhishek and us”.

Roy told The Indian Express that the two key grievances of the rebels include the “high-handedness of Abhishek Banerjee”. And that “there is nobody to listen to the grievances within the party”. Asked if he has felt this high-handedness, he replied, “Not personally, but I see, generally, people’s reactions.” To a question on whether he still stands with Mamata Banerjee, he replied, “As of now.”

Kalyan Banerjee, on the other hand, reacted explosively to Abhishek Banerjee’s move to replace him as lawyer.

“I had said, ‘Do not treat me like a dustbin’; inform me whether I will appear for the case or not. Later, they informed me that Ayan Bhattacharya will fight the case, so I left the case. I have 45 years of practice,” he told the media.

Targeting Abhishek Banerjee, he said, “It is because of him that we have to hear Chor Chor and our life is under threat. Even today, in the party’s bad days, I am beside Didi… Mamata Banerjee has to decide whether she will stay with Abhishek or us who are unhappy with him.”

Battle on two fronts

Mamata Banerjee is now fighting on two fronts: Kolkata and Delhi. Fifty-eight of the party’s 80 MLAs rebelled against the leadership’s choice of Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and backed MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as leader.

And in Delhi, Ghosh Dastidar has claimed that 20 out of 28 Trinamool Lok Sabha MPs want to be recognised as a separate bloc. Also, three out of the party’s 13 Rajya Sabha MPs – Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik – have quit and more are likely to follow suit.