In a significant political development that has sent shockwaves through the political landscape of West Bengal, 19 Members of Parliament from Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) have reportedly turned rebels. According to sources, these 19 rebel MPs have already signed a formal letter expressing their dissent. This move has left the TMC supremo, Mamata Banerjee, with only 9 Lok Sabha MPs currently standing by her side. The Trinamool Congress holds a total of 41 seats across both houses of Parliament, with 28 members in the Lok Sabha and the remainder in the Rajya Sabha.
Rebel Faction Submits Letter to Lok Sabha Speaker
Sources indicate that the group of rebel Trinamool Congress MPs has submitted a signed letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker. The letter reportedly contains the signatures of 19 MPs who are now distancing themselves from the party leadership. This faction is said to be operating under the leadership of Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and is discussing the possibility of extending support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), while high-profile names such as Saayoni Ghosh and the veteran actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha are reportedly part of this dissenting group. Also, former cricketer Yusuf Pathan is also mentioned as being among the rebels. With this shift, the TMC is left with a Notably diminished strength of only 9 MPs who claim to remain loyal to the party leadership.
List of the 19 Rebel MPs
The list of 19 rebel MPs includes prominent figures from various constituencies across West Bengal. The names mentioned are: Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar (Barasat), Jagadish Chandra Basunia (Cooch Behar), Khalilur Rahman (Jangipur), Yusuf Pathan (Baharampur), Abu Taher Khan (Murshidabad), Partha Bhowmick (Barrackpore), Bapi Haldar (Mathurapur), Saayoni Ghosh (Jadavpur), Mala Roy (Kolkata South), Mitali Bag (Arambagh), Deepak Adhikari (Dev) (Ghatal), Kalipada Soren (Jhargram), June Malia (Medinipur), Arup Chakraborty (Bankura), Dr. Sharmila Sarkar (Bardhaman Purba), Shatrughan Sinha (Asansol), Asit Kumar Mal (Bolpur), Satabdi Roy (Birbhum), and Rachana Banerjee from Hooghly.
Who Remains with Mamata Banerjee?
Following this massive defection, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is reportedly left with only 8 or 9 MPs who continue to support her. This loyalist group includes Abhishek Banerjee, Mahua Moitra, Kirti Azad, Saugata Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, and Satabdi Roy. Sources suggest that Mamata Banerjee is in constant contact with her remaining MPs and is currently formulating a future strategy to handle this crisis. In the midst of this political turmoil, Mamata Banerjee met with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, while Abhishek Banerjee held a meeting with Rahul Gandhi.
Challenges After Assembly Election Defeat
The Trinamool Congress has been facing mounting difficulties following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Initially, several MLAs began leaving the party, and now the rebellion has reached the parliamentary level. Since the election loss, senior MPs like Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Saayoni Ghosh, Partha Bhowmick, Shatrughan Sinha, and Yusuf Pathan had started distancing themselves from Mamata Banerjee's core camp, while despite this, a large section of the TMC camp believed these leaders would remain with the party. However, the current situation shows a steady departure of MPs, leaving Mamata Banerjee with a Importantly reduced circle of only 8 loyalists.