Yusuf Pathan, Saayoni Ghosh, Shatrughan Sinha among 20 TMC rebel list signatories
Twenty TMC MPs, including Yusuf Pathan, Saayoni Ghosh and Shatrughan Sinha allegedly joined the rebel camp backing the NDA, pushing the party further towards a possible vertical split.
As the political turmoil within the Trinamool Congress deepened and spilled into Parliament, as many as 20 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 on Wednesday. The latest to join the rebel camp was former footballer-turned-politician Prasun Banerjee, the Lok Sabha MP from Chanchal, on Thursday.
Banerjee was among the 20 MPs who attended an informal meeting at an undisclosed location in the national capital late on Sunday night, according to a PTI report.
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 Bhowmick (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)
- Prasun Banerjee (Chanchal)
The TMC currently has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha, with one vacancy following the death of Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam. The latest rebellion has now reduced Mamata Banerjee’s effective support base in the House to just 9 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.
However, with the backing of 20 MPs, more than two-thirds of the party’s total strength in the Lok Sabha, the rebel faction can also escape the anti-defection disqualification.
The 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 they are likely to argue before the Speaker that Dastidar remains the chief whip of the TMC in the Lok Sabha, a claim that could become central to the upcoming battle in the 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.
MAMATA CAMP DISPUTES REBEL LIST
After a list surfaced claiming that 19 MPs had joined the rebel camp, Trinamool sources loyal to Mamata Banerjee dismissed it, asserting that leaders Shatrughan Sinha and Dev Adhikari remain with the original party. They also claimed that Adhikari had publicly extended his support to Banerjee.
"A list claiming to have 19 signatories is doing the rounds. Both Shatrughan Sinha and Dev Adhikari are with the party (AITC) and not with the so-called BJP-backed rebel camp. Dev has already spoken to the media, reaffirming his loyalty to Didi," a source from the Mamata camp said.
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.
As the political turmoil within the Trinamool Congress deepened and spilled into Parliament, as many as 20 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 on Wednesday. The latest to join the rebel camp was former footballer-turned-politician Prasun Banerjee, the Lok Sabha MP from Chanchal, on Thursday.
Banerjee was among the 20 MPs who attended an informal meeting at an undisclosed location in the national capital late on Sunday night, according to a PTI report.
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 Bhowmick (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)
- Prasun Banerjee (Chanchal)
The TMC currently has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha, with one vacancy following the death of Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam. The latest rebellion has now reduced Mamata Banerjee’s effective support base in the House to just 9 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.
However, with the backing of 20 MPs, more than two-thirds of the party’s total strength in the Lok Sabha, the rebel faction can also escape the anti-defection disqualification.
The 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 they are likely to argue before the Speaker that Dastidar remains the chief whip of the TMC in the Lok Sabha, a claim that could become central to the upcoming battle in the 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.
MAMATA CAMP DISPUTES REBEL LIST
After a list surfaced claiming that 19 MPs had joined the rebel camp, Trinamool sources loyal to Mamata Banerjee dismissed it, asserting that leaders Shatrughan Sinha and Dev Adhikari remain with the original party. They also claimed that Adhikari had publicly extended his support to Banerjee.
"A list claiming to have 19 signatories is doing the rounds. Both Shatrughan Sinha and Dev Adhikari are with the party (AITC) and not with the so-called BJP-backed rebel camp. Dev has already spoken to the media, reaffirming his loyalty to Didi," a source from the Mamata camp said.
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.
