TMC Faces Split Threat as 19 MPs Back Rebel Bloc

• Satabdi Roy says 19 MPs have signed letter to Lok Sabha Speaker
• Rebel group seeks separate seating arrangement in Parliament
• Three Rajya Sabha MPs resign, deepening crisis within TMC
• Kalyan Banerjee launches fresh attack on Abhishek Banerjee

GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 13th June: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) appears to be facing its biggest internal crisis yet, with Lok Sabha MP Satabdi Roy claiming that 19 party lawmakers have signed a letter seeking recognition as a separate bloc in Parliament, raising the prospect of a formal split within the party.

Roy said the letter had already been submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and that the group had secured the required strength to seek separate recognition.

“We signed the letter. We have that magic figure. I think it has already been submitted to Speaker Om Birla ji,” Roy said.

The rebel MP stated that the lawmakers want separate seating arrangements in Parliament and expect to function as an independent bloc during the upcoming Monsoon Session, scheduled to begin in July.

According to sources, the letter expresses the lawmakers’ intention to distance themselves from the Mamata Banerjee-led party and align with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Sources also indicated that a 20th MP, described as a “big name”, may soon join the group.

The development is politically significant because the Trinamool Congress currently has 28 members in the Lok Sabha. Under anti-defection provisions, a two-thirds majority—19 MPs in this case—would be required for a breakaway faction to avoid disqualification and seek recognition as a separate group.

The crisis has intensified following the resignation of Rajya Sabha MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik earlier this week, reducing the party’s strength in the Upper House from 13 to 10 members.

Roy claimed that Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had not contacted her amid the unfolding developments.

Asked whether Mamata Banerjee could lose control of the party, Roy replied, “Most probably. Twenty people are against her in Parliament. Only six to seven people are left with her. We have the two-thirds majority.”

The turmoil comes amid growing public criticism of party leadership from within TMC ranks. Senior party leader Kalyan Banerjee recently launched a sharp attack on Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew.

Describing Abhishek’s approach as arrogant, Kalyan Banerjee said it had damaged the party and declared that he would find it difficult to continue working under the current circumstances.

However, Roy suggested that Kalyan Banerjee’s grievances were personal rather than ideological and indicated uncertainty over whether he would join the rebel camp.

The developments have sparked speculation about a major realignment within the Trinamool Congress ahead of crucial political battles in West Bengal, though the party leadership has not yet issued an official response.