Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Madan Mitra on Wednesday joined the rebel camp led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, dealing another political setback to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, even as he insisted that he remained a member of the party.
The veteran Kamarhati MLA announced his resignation from all national and state organisational committees of the Mamata Banerjee-aligned "Kalighat TMC". He also stepped down as the party's chief whip in the West Bengal Assembly with immediate effect.
"I have only changed my room, not my house. I am very much in the TMC," Mitra told reporters after meeting Ritabrata Banerjee in his chamber in the Assembly.
Dressed in a white kurta and wearing his trademark dark sunglasses, Mitra sat beside the rebel leader before declaring that he would no longer hold any organisational responsibility under the Mamata Banerjee-led faction while continuing as a Trinamool Congress MLA.
"I am resigning from all national and state committees of the Kalighat TMC. I am also stepping down as chief whip. But I remain a Trinamool MLA," he said.
Mitra's switch is the most significant defection to the rebel camp since the organisational split within the TMC became public and is expected to deepen the crisis confronting the Mamata Banerjee faction.
One of the Trinamool Congress' most recognisable mass leaders and a long-time trusted lieutenant of Mamata Banerjee, Mitra had in recent months publicly expressed differences with sections of the party leadership, while repeatedly asserting that he had no intention of leaving the party.
His decision to align with the Ritabrata Banerjee camp gives the rebels their highest-profile political face so far and is likely to strengthen their claim that discontent within the TMC extends beyond a handful of dissident legislators.
The Ritabrata Banerjee camp has, over the past few months, steadily challenged Mamata Banerjee's leadership, claiming to represent the "real" Trinamool Congress. The rebels have announced a parallel organisational structure and claimed control of the party headquarters, claims that have been rejected by the Mamata Banerjee faction.
Speculation over Mitra's move had intensified on Tuesday night after he visited the Entally residence of rebel MLA Sandipan Saha.
Although Saha was away at the time, Mitra held a lengthy discussion with the legislator's father and former MLA Swarnakamal Saha. After returning home, Sandipan Saha spoke to Mitra over the phone, during which the senior legislator expressed his desire to meet him. Assembly sources had indicated that the two would meet on Wednesday, fuelling speculation over Mitra's political future.
The political development came a day after the Enforcement Directorate summoned Mitra's wife and two sons in connection with the alleged municipal recruitment scam.
While neither Mitra nor the rebel camp linked the summons to Wednesday's developments, the timing added another layer to the political speculation surrounding his move.
The latest crossover comes as the power struggle within the TMC intensifies, with both camps staking claim to the party's political legacy, organisation and support base.
(With inputs from PTI)