Unveils parallel party structure
Kolkata: In a bid to wrest control of the TMC, its rebel faction led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee on Monday elected MLA Arup Roy as chairperson, marking the sharpest challenge yet to the authority of party founder Mamata Banerjee.
The move signals a rebellion that began in the assembly and later spilt into Parliament has now reached the party’s organisational citadel.
Addressing a special session here attended by rebel MLAs, councillors and other leaders, Banerjee said Roy was unanimously elected chairperson of the party.
Former minister Aroop Biswas and MLAs Firhad Hakim, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin were appointed vice-chairpersons, while Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha were named general secretaries. Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman Ansari was appointed treasurer.
“The special session of TMC leaders and members unanimously elected Arup Roy as party chairperson,” Banerjee told reporters after the meeting.
Seeking to bolster the legitimacy of the exercise, the rebel leader asserted the proceedings had been conducted in accordance with the party’s constitution and that details of the session would be communicated to the Election Commission.
“It is not about what is real or not real. We are TMC and will inform the Election Commission about today’s special session proceedings,” he said.
“We have functioned and convened this special session as per the norms. It is for the EC to decide what is wrong or right,” Banerjee said. He said the new leadership would soon move to establish the party’s organisational structure at various levels.
“We will soon constitute the district committees, the state unit and a panel of spokespersons,” he said.
Banerjee, however, struck a conciliatory note towards Mamata Banerjee, saying she can become the rebel faction’s chief adviser if she wished.
“If Mamata Banerjee wants to be the chief advisor, she is most welcome,” he said.
The special session comes amid an unprecedented crisis within the TMC following its defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections.
Only days ago, 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs backed Ritabrata Banerjee’s claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition, rejecting the leadership’s choice. The rebel camp has since claimed its strength has risen further.
The turmoil also extended to Parliament, where 20 of the TMC’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs recently broke away from the party’s parliamentary wing, merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), and extended support to the BJP-led NDA.
