Yusuf Pathan, Saayoni Ghosh, Shatrughan Sinha among 19 TMC rebel list signatories
WEST BENGAL, JUNE 10 : As the political turmoil within the Trinamool Congress deepened and spilled into Parliament, as many as 19 MPs, including prominent faces such as Yusuf Pathan, Sayoni Ghosh and Shatrughan Sinha, reportedly signed the rebel list, with the party appearing to be headed for a vertical split, sources said.
This unprecedented rebellion among parliamentarians, coupled with a massive mutiny in the West Bengal Assembly, marks the gravest challenge to Mamata Banerjee’s authority since the party’s inception and could permanently alter its political prospects in Kolkata and New Delhi.
The TMC MPs who allegedly joined the rebel camp are:
Shatrughan Sinha (Asansol)
Kakoli Ghosh (Barasat)
Jagdish Chandra Basunia (Cooch Behar)
Khali ur Rehman (Jangipur)
Yusuf Pathan (Behrampur)
Abu Tahir Khan (Murshidabad)
Partha Bhumik (Barrackpore)
Bapi Haldar (Mathurapur)
Saayoni Ghosh( Jadavpur)
Mala Roy (Kolkata South)
Mitali Bag (Aarambagh)
Deepak Adhikari (Ghatal)
Kalipada Soren (Jhalgram)
June Malia (Medinipur)
Aroop Chakraborty (Bankura)
Sharmila Sarkar (Vardhaman East)
Asit Kumar Mall (Bolpur)
Satabdi Roy (Birbhum)
Rachana Bannerjee (Hooghly)
The TMC currently has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha, with one vacancy following the death of Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam. Sources claimed that the latest rebellion has reduced Mamata Banerjee’s effective support base in the House to just 19 MPs.
The dissident MPs have decided against immediately resigning from the TMC or formally joining the BJP. Instead, they are planning to function as a separate bloc extending support to the NDA, a move apparently aimed at avoiding disqualification under the anti-defection law.
The rebel MPs have already informed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla about the formation of a separate parliamentary bloc under the leadership of Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.
Sources further indicated that the dissident camp is likely to argue before the Speaker that Dastidar continues to remain the chief whip of the TMC in the Lok Sabha, a claim that could become central to the legal and procedural battle likely to unfold in Parliament.
The political drama intensified on Tuesday after reports emerged that a group of rebel MPs held a meeting at the Delhi residence of senior BJP leader Bhupender Yadav. A photograph purportedly from the meeting showed Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, who quit from the post, along with MPs Abu Taher, Asit Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Kalipada Soren, Jagdish Basunia, Prasun Banerjee, Sharmila Sarkar and Satabdi Roy.
Party insiders also claimed that around 20 MPs attended an informal gathering at an undisclosed location in the national capital late on Sunday night, news agency PTI reported.
The rebellion in Parliament comes close on the heels of a major setback for the TMC leadership in the West Bengal Assembly. Earlier this week, 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs reportedly defied the leadership’s decision to appoint veteran leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition and instead backed expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee for the post.
The parallel rebellions in both Parliament and the Assembly have raised serious questions about Mamata Banerjee’s grip over the party organisation after the TMC’s disappointing electoral performance.
Amid the escalating crisis, Banerjee appeared to soften her political stance at the INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi, where Opposition parties discussed a broader strategy to counter the BJP at the national level. Observers said the former West Bengal Chief Minister adopted a more conciliatory approach as the TMC battles one of the most turbulent phases in its recent political history.
While the Congress high command held back-to-back meetings with Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi, speculation intensified over a possible rapprochement between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress, with some even hinting at the possibility of a merger.
-PTI
