Ritabrata Banerjee, a Trinamool Congress MLA who was recently expelled from the party, was recognised by the Bengal Assembly Speaker as the Leader of the Opposition after receiving the support of 60 MLAs. The development comes amid an internal rebellion within the TMC and a controversy over alleged forged signatures.
Addressing reporters after being recognised as the LoP, Ritabrata said Mamata Banerjee remained their leader and insisted that the group had no intention of splitting the party.
“We are the principal opposition and have fought together as a team,” he said after taking charge of the Leader of the Opposition’s chamber. Ritabrata also said he would continue to seek guidance from Mamata Banerjee while working within the party framework.
The former CPM leader took an indirect swipe at Abhishek Banerjee, describing the recent developments as a “collective fight against individualism”.
The political drama unfolded after 58 TMC MLAs submitted a letter to Speaker Rathindranath Bose backing Ritabrata for the post of Leader of the Opposition. The rebel legislators claimed that their faction represented the party’s true legislative wing.
Several key positions in the Assembly were also announced. Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin and Seuli Saha were named deputy leaders, while Akhruzzaman was appointed chief whip.
The move comes days after Abhishek Banerjee, acting in his capacity as the party’s general secretary, proposed Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as LoP and Firhad Hakim as chief whip. However, the proposal ran into trouble after allegations surfaced that signatures of some MLAs had been forged.
Following complaints by Ritabrata and Sandipan Saha, a CID investigation was launched into the matter. Reports said Abhishek Banerjee has also been summoned for questioning.
On Monday, the TMC expelled Ritabrata and Sandipan from the party. Although no official reason was given, the action followed speculation that the two leaders were attempting to engineer a split within the organisation.
Despite the fallout, Ritabrata maintained that the rebel MLAs remained loyal to Mamata Banerjee and would continue to work under the Trinamool Congress banner.
Amid the growing internal crisis, the party leadership dissolved all organisational committees and announced that it would review and rebuild the structure after introspection.
Ritabrata’s rise in politics began through student activism in the early 2000s. He served as general secretary of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPM, for eight years and later entered the Rajya Sabha at the age of 34.
His association with the CPM ended in 2017 when he was expelled over alleged anti-party activities. A year later, he joined the Trinamool Congress and was entrusted with responsibilities in the party’s trade union wing.
In 2024, he entered the Rajya Sabha again as a TMC nominee following Jawhar Sircar’s resignation. Earlier this year, he contested and won the Uluberia Purba Assembly seat.
Now at the centre of one of the biggest political developments in West Bengal, Ritabrata’s future within the party remains uncertain as attention turns to how Mamata Banerjee responds to the unfolding situation.