KOLKATA: West Bengal minister and veteran BJP MLA Tapas Roy on Tuesday claimed that the opposition Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was heading towards a split, amid growing discontent within the party.
The newly elected legislator from the Maniktala constituency in Kolkata also claimed that a split in the Trinamool Congress could lead to a rerun of the political upheaval witnessed in Maharashtra in 2022.
Speaking to reporters at the West Bengal Legislative Assembly complex, Roy said internal contradictions within the Trinamool Congress were deepening as the party had accommodated people with little political background.
“Trinamool Congress would gradually disappear from the political landscape of West Bengal in coming days,” Roy claimed, adding, “There is growing dissatisfaction among many leaders and legislators, giving a clear indication of a steady split in the Trinamool Congress.”
Roy quit the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP in 2024.
Earlier, senior Trinamool Congress MLA from Ballygunge in south Kolkata, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, asserted that the majority of the party's legislators would remain with party supremo Mamata Banerjee and that the old guard would continue to retain control of the organisation.
Within an hour of Roy's remarks, suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Ritabrata Banerjee from the Uluberia Purba constituency in Howrah district, who is projected to be the leader of a dissident group within the party, arrived at the Legislative Assembly and told reporters that the party had been “hijacked by I-PAC and no longer belongs to Mamata Banerjee”.
I-PAC is a political consultancy agency engaged by the Trinamool Congress in the state.
Political speculation surrounding the Trinamool Congress has intensified over the past two days. Sixty out of the party's 80 legislators allegedly skipped a meeting called by Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence on Sunday, indicating widespread dissatisfaction among legislators following the party's debacle in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, who were suspended by the Trinamool Congress leadership on charges of anti party activities, reportedly met several legislators at the MLA Hostel in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Reports also suggest that between 20 and 50 legislators could be in touch with the rebel camp.
"The party has been hijacked by I-PAC and no longer belongs to Mamata Banerjee," Ritabrata, a former CPI(M) leader who was expelled from the party, said, fuelling speculation about a widening internal rift within the Trinamool Congress.
The year 2022 was a turning point in Maharashtra when Eknath Shinde rebelled against the Shiv Sena and wrested both governmental and political power from Uddhav Thackeray. According to Roy, a similar political scenario could unfold in West Bengal.
Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha allegedly met several TMC MLAs at the MLA Hostel in Kolkata on Monday night. Sixty of the TMC's 80 MLAs had reportedly distanced themselves from the meeting convened by Mamata Banerjee on Sunday.