Fresh Jolt to Mamata Banerjee as Close Aide Sudip Joins Rebels, TMC Loses Control of Bengal Assembly Too

The crisis engulfing the Trinamool Congress (TMC) deepened dramatically over the weekend as senior leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay , long considered one of Mamata Banerjee's closest aides, formally joined the rebel camp, meeting Union Minister Bhupender Yadav and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi alongside dissident MP Satabdi Roy . His defection takes the strength of the breakaway faction to around 20 of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs , even as former minister Manas Bhunia also quit the party and urged Banerjee to accept his resignation.

The dissident group, led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and including Yusuf Pathan , Saayoni Ghosh , Rachana Banerjee , Abu Taher Khan , Partha Bhowmik and Bapi Haldar among others, is scheduled to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday to stake claim as the "real TMC" parliamentary group and seek a separate seating arrangement. Rebel MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia said sources want Bandyopadhyay to lead the group in the House. However, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's planned Sunday meeting with the rebels was called off. Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha denied being part of the rebel list, reaffirming his loyalty to Banerjee.

The turmoil has spread to the state Assembly, where 64 of the party's 80 MLAs have backed expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of Opposition over the party's nominee Sovandeb Chattopadhyay , a decision the Assembly Speaker upheld and which the TMC has now challenged in the Calcutta High Court. Separately, the CID has summoned legislator Kunal Ghosh over a probe into alleged forged MLA signatures.

Adding to the chaos, Baidyanath Ghosh Dastidar , son of Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, sent a legal notice to Banerjee, Mahua Moitra , Kalyan Banerjee , Saugata Roy and Sonali Guha , denying he had sought a Barasat ticket and rejecting allegations of alcohol consumption, demanding a public apology within 15 days.

Loyalists Mahua Moitra , Saugata Roy and Kirti Azad insisted most MPs had rejected the rebels' overtures, while Roy said he was "deeply hurt" by Bandyopadhyay's move. Three Rajya Sabha MPs, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy , Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik , have already resigned. Banerjee also reshuffled party units, replacing youth wing chief Saayoni Ghosh with Arnab Banerjee and Mahila Congress head Mala Roy with Alifa Ahmed . Amid mounting speculation, Derek O'Brien dismissed reports of a Congress merger as "fake news".