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Ritabrata Banerjee has claimed rebel TMC lawmakers now command majority support and plan to expand their influence to local bodies and district-level party units.
A file photo of Ritabrata Banerjee (PTI)
Rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Ritabrata Banerjee has said that the dissident camp’s efforts will not stop with securing the backing of legislators and parliamentarians, indicating that the group now intends to expand its influence across the party’s organisational structure, including civic bodies, municipal corporations and district units.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Banerjee outlined what he described as the next phase of the rebellion against the faction led by Abhishek Banerjee.
According to him, after consolidating support among MLAs and MPs, the focus will shift to grassroots and local-government institutions that have traditionally formed the backbone of the party’s network in West Bengal.
“Once the MP-MLA things are over, the municipalities will be shifting. The municipalities, the corporations, the Zilla Parishads, and even people who are presidents of different districts are already in touch with us. It is a parliamentary democracy. Numbers are important in a parliamentary democracy. Anyhow, let’s meet at the Election Commission,” Banerjee was quoted as saying.
The rebel leader suggested that support for the dissident camp was growing beyond the legislature and Parliament, claiming that functionaries associated with local bodies and district-level organisations had already established contact with the group.
He said the movement had followed a clear sequence, beginning with lawmakers, before expanding to other sections of the party organisation.
“The Trinamool’s grassroots organisation will be holding a meeting. We are working out what we will do. The primary focus was on the MLAs, then the MPs, then slowly we will be taking over the corporations, then the municipalities, then the Zilla Parishads,” he said.
His remarks indicate that the rebels are preparing for a wider battle over the control of the party’s organisational machinery, not merely its legislative wings.
‘WE ARE THE TMC’
Asked whether the dissident faction intended to claim that it represented the real Trinamool Congress, Banerjee left little room for ambiguity.
“We are the TMC, what real, what non-real? More than two-thirds of the MPs are on board, and more than two-thirds of the MLAs are on board. If necessary, we will meet at the Election Commission,” he said.
According to Banerjee, the rebel camp has already secured significant backing within the TMC Legislature Party.
He was quoted as saying that he had submitted a letter to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose carrying the signatures of 58 MLAs. He added that three more legislators had submitted separate letters and that another three were expected to do so shortly.
Banerjee claimed that the number of legislators supporting the rebel bloc would eventually rise further before the Assembly session.
A FIGHT AGAINST ‘CORPORATE BUREAUCRACY’
The rebel leader also took aim at Abhishek Banerjee and the current functioning of the party organisation.
“A grassroots-level party belonging to Mamata Banerjee has been conveniently hijacked by a corporate bureaucracy,” he said.
The remark underscored one of the principal criticisms advanced by members of the rebel camp, who argue that the party has moved away from its original grassroots character.
Even as he outlined plans for expanding the rebellion through local bodies and organisational units, Banerjee maintained that the movement was not directed against Mamata Banerjee personally.
He said the dissident legislators continued to stand by their proposal that the West Bengal chief minister serve as the chief adviser to the group.
“Whatever we have said, we are not changing our position. Our Legislative Party has requested Mamata Banerjee to work as the chief adviser of this group. We stand by that,” Banerjee was quoted as saying.
About the Author
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has more than 10 years of experience in national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
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