Ranit Kr. Singh , Kolkata — The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) plunged into an unprecedented crisis on Wednesday as a breakaway faction staked a claim to form the official opposition bloc in the West Bengal Assembly. Backed by 59 of the party's 80 MLAs, the newly formed 'real Trinamool' faction chose expelled Uluberia East MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition. A formal letter detailing the support of the absolute majority of legislators has been sent to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, following a swift dissolution of all existing Trinamool committees and state branch organizations.

The dramatic development marks a breaking point for the party following its recent electoral defeat. Internal rebellion had been simmering since May 31, when a crucial meeting called by party supremo Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence saw an abysmal turnout of just 17 out of 80 MLAs. Public support continued to dry up as a regional procession called on June 1 failed to draw crowds on the ground. Even a subsequent sit-in demonstration staged by Mamata Banerjee at Kolkata’s Y Channel on June 2 drew the brief presence of only eight MLAs and six MPs, signaling a rapidly shrinking inner circle.

While the rebel group solidifies its numerical advantage in the assembly, several legislators, including Sabina Yasmin, Kanayalal Agarwal, Rathin Ghosh, and Shiuli Saha, publicly condemned the proceedings, stating they did not consent to the discussions or signing. The political road ahead remains deeply turbulent for the TMC. Observers speculate that the party supremo may completely restructure the student, youth, labor, and women's wing branch organizations in a desperate bid to salvage the party's crumbling infrastructure and reassert control over its future existence.