Kolkata: From “cross-voting” to abstaining, rebel Trinamool MLAs on Monday repeatedly floundered on the assembly floor during the passage of four bills – the first to be introduced by the BJP govt in Bengal.In the first half, after the discussion, ISF MLA Nawsad Siddique demanded a vote. Three Mamata Banerjee loyalists – Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Biman Banerjee and Alifa Ahmed – were seen discussing their party’s strategy. On the other side, Ritabrata Banerjee, Sandipan Saha and Sabina Yeasmin quickly wrapped up their discussions.Just before voting, a large section of MLAs from the Ritabrata camp staged a walkout. However, a few members of the rebel camp, including Kajal Sheikh, Tauseef Rahman, Bayron Biswas, Mosaraf Hossen and Pannalal Haldar, stayed behind. They even faced a reprimand from speaker Rathindra Bose for not leaving on time. Though they remained inside, they decided to abstain from voting.When the results came out, it was revealed that 186 votes were cast in favour and 17 against it. The Mamata-loyalist camp claimed that 12 of their MLAs were present, and sources indicated they voted against. On the other hand, if the two Congress MLAs, CPM’s Mustafizur Rahman and Siddique voted against the proposal, the total votes against it should have been 16. This raised questions about who among the five rebel MLAs who stayed back had cross-voted.In the second half, after the discussion on the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the chief whip of the Ritabrata camp, Akhruzzaman, demanded a vote.All Mamata-camp legislators abstained from voting. The final voting result was 176 in favour, 41 against and 20 abstentions.TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said 11 of their MLAs were present during the voting in the second half. “We were 11 MLAs. Then who were the remaining nine MLAs who abstained?” he asked. The Ritabrata camp kept mum on the issue.
