Ritabrata Banerjee-led TMC rebel bloc of 60 MLAs meets in Bengal Assembly
Synopsis
A month after Trinamool's 80-seat collapse in Bengal, the party has fractured from within. Ritabrata Banerjee's 60-MLA bloc — now the official opposition — meets Thursday, leaving Mamata with just 20. The rebellion, triggered by a CID probe into signature mismatches, has been engineered with a deliberate caste-and-community coalition at the top.
Key Takeaways
Ritabrata Banerjee will chair the first meeting of the new Trinamool bloc in the West Bengal Assembly on 5 June .
The bloc, with 60 MLAs , is now the recognised principal opposition; Mamata Banerjee's faction is left with 20 legislators .
Speaker Rathindra Bose accepted a resolution signed by 58 MLAs naming Ritabrata as Leader of Opposition.
The split comes a month after Trinamool's tally fell to 80 in the 294-seat House on 4 May .
A CID probe into signature mismatches in an earlier opposition-slot resolution is said to have triggered the rebellion.
Leadership posts span Brahmin, SC, Muslim and trading communities by design.
Ritabrata Banerjee, the 'expelled' Trinamool Congress legislator from Uluberia (Purba), will on Thursday, 5 June chair the maiden meeting of the new breakaway bloc of the Trinamool Congress Legislative Party inside the West Bengal Assembly in Kolkata — a faction that has now been formally recognised as the principal opposition group in the House. The sitting, to be held on the Assembly premises, will be attended by 60 rebel MLAs, dwarfing the rump loyal to former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
How the new bloc was formalised
According to Assembly records, Ritabrata is now the official Leader of Opposition (LoP) and head of the new Trinamool legislative bloc. A resolution nominating him as LoP, endorsed by signatures of 58 Trinamool legislators, was accepted by Speaker Rathindra Bose on Wednesday. Two additional MLAs have since aligned with the bloc, taking the strength at Thursday's meeting to 60.
What it means for Mamata's camp
The realignment leaves the original Trinamool bloc — which still owes allegiance to Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee — with just 20 legislators. The split comes exactly a month after the 4 May Assembly results, in which the Trinamool Congress slumped to 80 seats in the 294-seat House, a landslide reversal for the party Mamata founded.
A calibrated rebellion
Political observers say the disintegration was a carefully sequenced operation. First, Ritabrata and his fellow party legislator from Entally, Sandipan Saha, informed the office of the Speaker about the signature mismatches of several Trinamool Congress legislators in the original resolution submitted by undivided Trinamool Congress naming legislators for crucial Assembly slots reserved for the opposition bench. Thereafter, as a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe in the signature mismatches case started, rebellion started spreading, finally leading to the disintegration of the Mamata Banerjee-founded party on Wednesday,
a city-based political observer said.
The same observer claimed Ritabrata's team is now working to widen the rift inside the rump faction. On one hand, he is reportedly urging Mamata Banerjee to serve as an advisor to the new bloc; on the other, members of his team are said to be pressing her, indirectly, to expel Abhishek from the party.
A social coalition by design
The leadership structure of the new bloc has been assembled with visible attention to social representation. Ritabrata, the LoP, comes from an upper-caste Brahmin background. Of the three deputy leaders of the opposition, Siuli Saha is a woman from a Scheduled Caste background, Javen Ahmed Khan is from the Muslim community, and Sandipan Saha represents the trading community. The chief whip of the new bloc, Akhruzzaman, is also from the Muslim community.
What's next
Thursday's meeting is expected to set the bloc's floor strategy for the upcoming Assembly session, including committee nominations and opposition priorities. With the CID probe into the signature mismatches still active, further defections from the Mamata-Abhishek camp cannot be ruled out.
Point of View
A Speaker-accepted resolution, and a caste-balanced new leadership — suggests an operation months in the making, not a post-defeat tantrum. The unanswered question is whether the rump rallies around Abhishek Banerjee or whether Mamata is being maneuvered into a wholly ceremonial role.
NationPress
21 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the new Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly?
Ritabrata Banerjee, the 'expelled' Trinamool Congress legislator from Uluberia (Purba), is the official Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly as per House records. His nomination was endorsed by 58 Trinamool MLAs and accepted by Speaker Rathindra Bose on Wednesday.
How many MLAs are in the new Trinamool bloc?
The new bloc led by Ritabrata Banerjee has 60 MLAs attending its first meeting on Thursday. This leaves the original faction loyal to Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee with just 20 legislators.
What triggered the split inside the Trinamool Congress?
The rebellion reportedly began after Ritabrata Banerjee and Entally MLA Sandipan Saha flagged signature mismatches in an earlier resolution naming legislators for opposition-bench slots. A subsequent CID probe into those mismatches accelerated defections, culminating in Wednesday's formal split.
How did Trinamool perform in the 2025 Bengal Assembly elections?
The Trinamool Congress faced a landslide defeat on 4 May, with its tally reduced to 80 seats in the 294-seat West Bengal Assembly. The split has emerged exactly a month after that result.
Who are the deputy leaders and chief whip of the new bloc?
The three deputy leaders of opposition are Siuli Saha (a Scheduled Caste woman), Javen Ahmed Khan (Muslim) and Sandipan Saha (from the trading community). Akhruzzaman, also from the Muslim community, is the chief whip of the new bloc.
