The announcement came as the TMC grappled with its most serious internal crisis since losing power, with a large section of its legislators openly rebelling against the party leadership and seeking a reorganisation of the legislature wing.
Also read: TMC crisis deepens as Mamata loyalists attend BJP-led review meeting
The political churn was visible on Wednesday when Hakim, along with TMC MLAs Nayana Bandyopadhyay, Ashok Deb and Kunal Ghosh, attended an administrative review meeting convened by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna, a development that added a fresh dimension to the ongoing unrest within the party, PTI reported.
The attendance of several leaders considered close to Banerjee at the government meeting came even as the party’s legislative wing appeared headed for an unprecedented split.
Rebels stake claim to legislature leadership
Hours earlier, 58 dissident TMC MLAs formally extended support to expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee as the new leader of the legislature party and conveyed their decision to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, according to PTI.
Ritabrata Banerjee, accompanied by fellow rebel MLA Sandipan Saha and other dissident legislators, met the Speaker and submitted letters of support purportedly signed by 58 MLAs.
The rebel faction also proposed a new leadership structure, naming Ritabrata Banerjee as legislature party leader, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Shiuli Saha as deputy leaders, and Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman as the chief whip.
Ritabrata Banerjee, Khan and Saha were also present at the chief minister’s administrative review meeting later in the day.
The developments followed a gathering of dissident legislators at the Assembly earlier on Wednesday. Significantly, none of the MLAs who attended the rebels’ meeting had participated in Mamata Banerjee’s dharna in central Kolkata on Tuesday, highlighting the growing divide between the party leadership and the dissident bloc.
Also read: TMC rebels back expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as legislature party leader in Bengal
Political signals from administrative meetings
Several leaders identified with the Kalighat leadership, including Hakim, Bandyopadhyay, Deb and Ghosh, skipped the Assembly meeting and instead attended the Nabanna review meeting.
The latest development comes days after senior TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and six party MLAs attended an administrative review meeting chaired by Adhikari in Kalyani, triggering speculation over shifting political equations within the opposition camp after the assembly election setback.
Political observers told PTI that with another set of TMC leaders attending Wednesday’s meeting, the line between administrative engagement and political messaging was becoming increasingly blurred in West Bengal’s evolving post-election landscape.
The BJP government has maintained that such meetings are inclusive administrative exercises. During the previous TMC regime, BJP leaders had often alleged that opposition legislators were excluded from official review meetings.
Soon after assuming office, Adhikari announced that opposition MPs and MLAs would be invited to government programmes and district-level administrative review meetings.
Also read: TMC dissolves West Bengal units, launches overhaul after poll drubbing
Party debates participation
Reacting to the participation of TMC legislators in such meetings last week, Kunal Ghosh had said the matter was being discussed within the party.
“We are not in favour of boycotting administrative meetings called by the state government. But when our party workers are being assaulted and rendered homeless in post-poll violence, we need to think twice before attending such meetings. Our party is also discussing whether we should continue participating in these meetings or not,” he had said.
The ongoing turmoil comes against the backdrop of the TMC’s crushing assembly election defeat and growing uncertainty over the party’s future leadership structure.
