Expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata becomes LoP, says Mamata remains our chief

Ritabrata Banerjee, a Trinamool MLA expelled for anti-party activities, was recognised by the Bengal Assembly Speaker as the Leader of the Opposition after 60 MLAs submitted letters of support endorsing him. Speaking to reporters after the rebellion, which came amid a forged signatures row, Ritabrata maintained that Mamata Banerjee was their leader and he does not intend to split the party. Read Full Story The former Left leader, who joined the Trinamool in 2018, was handed over the keys to the chamber of the leader of the opposition. "We are the principal opposition. We have fought as a team," Ritabrata said in his first remarks after being recognised as the LoP. "Will request Mamata Banerjee to keep advising us as always while staying at the helm of affairs," Ritabrata, who won from Uluberia Purba, said. He also took a swipe at Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, calling his move a "collective fight against individualism". HOW RITABRATA BECAME LEADER OF OPPOSITION Earlier in the day, as many as 58 Trinamool MLAs, defying the leadership, submitted a letter to Speaker Rathindranath Bose proposing Ritabrata as the LoP. The rebel MLAs claimed the faction should be recognised as the TMC's "real" legislative wing. TMC MLAs Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin, and Seuli Saha have been named as the deputy leaders in the House. Akhruzzaman has been named as the chief whip of the party. Last week, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, in his role as the party's general secretary, had written to the Speaker proposing Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the LoP and Firhad Hakim as chief whip. However, the proposal was not accepted by the Speaker following allegations by Ritabrata and Sandipan that signatures of several TMC MLAs endorsing Sobhandeb were forged. A CID probe has been ordered into the alleged scandal. The agency has also summoned Abhishek for questioning. On Monday, the Trinamool expelled Ritabrata and Sandipan. While the party did not explicitly reveal the reason, it came amid mounting speculation that the MLAs were trying to engineer a split within the party. However, Ritabrata made it clear that the rebel MLAs were not challenging the leadership of Mamata and they would work under the TMC flag. Amid the rebellion, the Trinamool leadership dissolved all party committees. In a post on X, the party said it would introspect before reconstituting its organisational structure. WHO IS RITABRATA BANERJEE? The internal rebellion within the Trinamool has firmly put the spotlight on Ritabrata. The 47-year-old cut his teeth in politics as a student leader in the early 2000s. He served as the general secretary of CPM’s student wing, the Students' Federation of India (SFI), for eight years. He rose through the CPM ranks quickly. At the age of 34, Ritabrata was sent by the CPM to the Rajya Sabha. However, a setback came in 2017 after he was expelled by the CPM for alleged anti-party activities. His luxurious lifestyle choices, including sporting an Apple watch, were found to be inconsistent with the CPM's ideals. Ends