TMC's First Split in 28 Years: How Ritabrata Banerjee and 58 Rebel MLAs Shook Mamata's Political Empire
Trinamool Congress split was always spoken about in whispers. But on June 4, 2026, it stopped being a rumour.
In a political earthquake that nobody in West Bengal's ruling corridors wanted to believe was actually coming, 58 rebel TMC MLAs backed expelled lawmaker Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. The West Bengal Assembly Speaker, Rathindra Bose, formally accepted their claim. And just like that, a party that had ruled Bengal for over a decade without serious internal challenge found itself staring at its own fracture, in public, on record.
This was not just a political scuffle. The Trinamool Congress split for the first time in its 28-year history, with 58 rebel MLAs taking control of the party's legislature wing and securing recognition from the West Bengal Assembly Speaker. That number matters. TMC holds 80 MLAs in the current Assembly. The rebels have claimed more than two-thirds of that strength.
How a Forged Signature Started a Political Firestorm
The spark was surprisingly bureaucratic. After the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, in which TMC lost power to the BJP, the party needed to name a Leader of Opposition. A letter was submitted to the Speaker proposing veteran leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay for the role. The problem? Ritabrata Banerjee and fellow MLA Sandipan Saha reportedly raised objections, alleging that their signatures on the letter had been forged or improperly used.
It was not a small complaint. It went to the heart of institutional trust. And it immediately drew attention toward Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata's nephew and the party's national general secretary, who was summoned in connection with the forged signature probe and did not appear before investigators on June 1, 2026.
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The TMC's response to Ritabrata's complaint was swift and blunt. The party expelled Sandipan Saha and Ritabrata Banerjee on June 1, 2026, accusing them of anti-party activities and conduct prejudicial to the organisation's interests.
That expulsion, intended to silence a dispute, instead lit a fuse.
Who Is Ritabrata Banerjee?
This is a man whose political biography reads like a thriller. From being one of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s youngest and most promising faces to becoming a Rajya Sabha MP and later joining the TMC, his journey has been anything but ordinary.
Born on November 15, 1978, in Calcutta, Ritabrata Banerjee served as State President of the INTTUC West Bengal and was elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal in 2014. He was later expelled from the CPM as well, making his expulsion from the TMC his second such exit from a major party. With this being his second expulsion from a major political party in less than ten years, political observers are now closely watching his next move.
A man who has been thrown out twice, and yet has walked back in with 58 legislators behind him. There is something almost cinematic about that.
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What the Rebel Camp Is Actually Claiming
The rebels are not just asking for a different leader. They are staking claim to the party's identity itself.
A leader associated with the dissident camp said, "A new Trinamool takes shape. Ritabrata Banerjee named Leader of Opposition. Akhruzzaman as chief whip. We accept Mamata Banerjee as our leader, but do not accept Abhishek Banerjee."
That last sentence is the most politically loaded one. They are not rejecting Mamata. They are rejecting her nephew, who many within TMC believe has been running a parallel power centre, sidelining older party loyalists and imposing control over candidate selection and appointments.
Ritabrata Banerjee struck a conciliatory note, urging Mamata Banerjee to serve as chief adviser to the newly constituted legislature team, while simultaneously asserting that the dissident camp was now the "real" Trinamool Congress in the Assembly.
Banerjee said 58 MLAs with two more expected to join had resolved their position, and he claimed the Speaker had accepted the rebel group's legislature party status.
TMC's Counter-Move: Dissolve Everything
The Mamata camp did not take this lying down. Within hours of the dissident camp's move, the TMC announced the dissolution of all organisational committees in West Bengal and every frontal organisation. A scorched-earth internal restructuring, presented as a routine review. Few were convinced it was routine.
On the Assembly floor, the Mamata camp had already moved to install Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as LoP. Kalyan Banerjee, a loyalist, posted a letter to Speaker Bose announcing Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition, with Ashima Patra and Nayana Bandopadhyay as his two deputies. The Speaker now has two competing claims for the same legislative position, from two groups both calling themselves the "real TMC." This will be settled institutionally, but the political damage is already done.
What This Means for Bengal's Politics
The comparison to what happened to Shiv Sena in Maharashtra is being made widely, and not without reason. Sources said that Ritabrata is making similar attempts to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena rebellion, where the party split into two factions with the rebel camp retaining the party's name and symbol.
If the rebels succeed in retaining the TMC name and symbol before the Election Commission, this stops being an internal revolt and becomes a full hostile takeover. That is the scenario Mamata's camp is most afraid of.
For the BJP, already ruling the state after a historic victory, this internal collapse of the opposition is a political windfall. Some analysts note that Ritabrata Banerjee's move strengthens the BJP's position in West Bengal even further.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information available across the web. Parchar Manch does not take responsibility for its complete accuracy, as the content could not be fully verified.
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FAQs
Who is Ritabrata Banerjee and why was he expelled from the TMC?
Ritabrata Banerjee is a former CPM and TMC leader who was elected as an MLA from Uluberia Purba in the 2026 West Bengal elections. He was expelled from TMC on June 1, 2026, after raising allegations that his signature was forged on a letter proposing Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition.
How many MLAs support the rebel TMC faction?
As of June 4, 2026, 58 out of 80 TMC MLAs have backed Ritabrata Banerjee's faction, with two more expected to join, giving the rebel camp a potential two-thirds majority within the TMC legislature group.
Has the West Bengal Assembly Speaker officially recognized the rebel faction?
Ritabrata Banerjee and his faction have claimed that Speaker Rathindra Bose has accepted their representation. However, the Mamata camp has also submitted its own candidate, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, for the same position. The Speaker's final formal decision remains the legal determination.
Is Mamata Banerjee herself being rejected by the rebels?
No. The rebel MLAs have explicitly stated they accept Mamata Banerjee as their party leader and have even invited her to serve as chief adviser to the rebel legislature team. Their specific opposition is directed at Abhishek Banerjee, her nephew.
What happens to the TMC party name and symbol now?
This is the critical next step. If the rebels pursue a formal split before the Election Commission, they may petition for the TMC name and symbol, similar to the Shiv Sena split in Maharashtra. That legal process would determine which faction retains the official party identity.
Is this the first time TMC has split?
Yes. The Trinamool Congress was founded in 1998. This 2026 rebellion represents the first formal split in the party's 28-year history.