Mamata Banerjee ‘replaced’ as TMC chairperson amid party turmoil; rebels served show-cause notice

Internal turmoil within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has intensified, with a rebel faction reportedly "replacing" founder Mamata Banerjee as party chairperson and electing senior MLA Arup Roy. This development marks the latest significant blow to the party since its defeat in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Sources within the rebel camp claim that approximately 60 of the TMC's 80 MLAs, along with nearly 70 former Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillors and district representatives, attended or endorsed the rebel session. This challenge to Banerjee's leadership comes after the assembly speaker recognized 58 rebel TMC legislators as the principal opposition party.

In response to the formation of a parallel leadership structure, the TMC's disciplinary committee has issued show-cause notices to prominent leaders, including Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas. They are accused of deliberately engaging in anti-party activities. The party's crisis deepened earlier this month when two expelled legislators, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, were appointed leader and deputy leader of the opposition.

Further complicating matters, another faction of 20 TMC MPs has emerged, proposing a merger with a smaller party to support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Parliament. This move could potentially increase the NDA's strength in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.