Mamata faction shut out of Bengal Assembly's Business Advisory Committee
Synopsis
Every Trinamool Congress seat on West Bengal Assembly's powerful Business Advisory Committee has gone to the rebel faction led by expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee — locking out Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee's loyalists from the body that controls the entire legislative calendar. It is the sharpest institutional blow yet to the 'original but minority' faction.
Key Takeaways
No MLA from the Mamata Banerjee -loyal Trinamool faction has been included in the newly constituted Business Advisory (BA) Committee of the West Bengal Assembly .
All five Trinamool seats on the panel — out of 19 permanent members — have gone to the rival 'rebel but majority' faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee , the Leader of Opposition .
The BJP holds 14 of the 19 permanent member slots on the committee.
Among the 10 invited members , representatives from Congress , CPI(M) , AISF , and AJUP have been included, but again no Mamata-faction Trinamool MLA.
Constitutional experts say the selection cannot be formally challenged as both Trinamool factions are officially recorded under the same party name in Assembly records.
Not a single legislator from the Trinamool Congress faction loyal to former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has been included in the newly constituted Business Advisory (BA) Committee of the West Bengal Assembly, marking a fresh blow to the group's already diminishing clout in the House.
How the BA Committee Is Composed
The newly constituted BA Committee carries 19 permanent members — 14 from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and five from the opposition Trinamool Congress benches. Crucially, all five Trinamool representatives are drawn from the 'rebel but majority' faction within the party's legislative group, led by expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, who now holds the position of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. Ritabrata himself figures among the permanent members.
Beyond the permanent members, the committee also lists 10 invited members — four from BJP and two from Trinamool Congress, with one of those two again belonging to the Ritabrata-led grouping. The remaining invited slots have been distributed across smaller parties: Mohtab Sheikh, one of the two Congress members in the current Assembly, has been included, as have Md. Mostafijur Rahaman, the lone CPI(M) representative, Nawsad Siddique of the All-India Secular Front (AISF), and the lone representative of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP).
Why the BA Committee Matters
The Business Advisory Committee is one of the most consequential statutory bodies in any state legislature. Its members convene ahead of every Assembly session to determine when the session will commence, how long it will run, and which bills will be taken up for debate. In effect, the BA Committee shapes the entire legislative calendar of the House — making exclusion from it a significant institutional setback.
The Factional Divide Within Trinamool
The West Bengal Assembly now hosts two distinct Trinamool Congress groupings: the 'original but minority' faction aligned with Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, and the 'rebel but majority' faction under Ritabrata Banerjee. Despite the split, both sets of legislators are formally recorded as Trinamool Congress members in Assembly rolls. Constitutional experts note that this technical classification means the composition of the BA Committee cannot be formally challenged — all five Trinamool seats on the panel are, on paper, filled by members of the party.
This comes amid a broader pattern of marginalisation of the Mamata-Abhishek faction since the BJP's sweeping victory in West Bengal. The exclusion from the BA Committee signals that the rebel faction, now wielding majority numbers in the legislative party, has consolidated its grip over the Assembly's procedural machinery as well.
What Comes Next
With the BA Committee now set, the rebel faction controls the Trinamool voice on the body that will decide the shape of every forthcoming Assembly session. Whether the Mamata-loyal MLAs mount a legal or procedural challenge to their exclusion remains to be seen. Political observers in Kolkata suggest the sidelining could deepen the rift within the party's legislative wing ahead of future electoral cycles.
Point of View
Who built her political identity around dominating West Bengal's legislature, being rendered invisible in its most consequential committee is a stark reversal. The BJP, holding 14 of 19 permanent seats, has little incentive to intervene — the factional split serves its interests. The deeper question is whether the 'original but minority' group has any institutional recourse left, or whether the split has already become irreversible at the legislative level.
NationPress
24 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Business Advisory Committee of the West Bengal Assembly?
The Business Advisory (BA) Committee is one of the most important statutory committees of any state legislature. It meets before every Assembly session to decide when the session begins, how long it lasts, and which bills are taken up — effectively controlling the entire legislative calendar of the House.
Why has the Mamata Banerjee faction been excluded from the BA Committee?
The newly constituted BA Committee's five Trinamool Congress seats have all been allocated to the 'rebel but majority' faction led by expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, who is also the Leader of Opposition. The Mamata-Abhishek Banerjee-loyal 'original but minority' faction has received no berth, reflecting its diminished clout in the Assembly.
Who is Ritabrata Banerjee and what is his role?
Ritabrata Banerjee is an expelled Trinamool Congress legislator who leads the 'rebel but majority' faction within the party's legislative group in the West Bengal Assembly. He currently holds the position of Leader of Opposition and is himself a permanent member of the newly constituted BA Committee.
Can the exclusion of the Mamata faction be legally challenged?
Constitutional experts say it is unlikely. Since both the Mamata-loyal and Ritabrata-led factions are officially recorded as Trinamool Congress members in Assembly records, all five Trinamool seats on the BA Committee are technically filled by party representatives, leaving no formal grounds for challenge.
Which other parties have representation on the BA Committee?
Beyond BJP and Trinamool Congress, the committee's invited members include Congress MLA Mohtab Sheikh, CPI(M)'s lone MLA Md. Mostafijur Rahaman, AISF representative Nawsad Siddique, and the lone Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) legislator.
