You could call it a hard reset after the election. The TMC has done away with every organisational committee in the state to reassert itself, with a rebellion by 58 MLAs in play that could very well upend the opposition in the Assembly and the party’s own internal dynamics.
It was a bold announcement, made just hours after wayward lawmakers put in for Ritabrata Banerjee, the man they had cast out. The idea is to put a stop to the infighting, see where things stand, and put in place a structure of command that can hold its ground when challenged from inside.
What the party decided
Effective immediately, the word from the top is that all of the party’s committees in West Bengal, down to the frontal organisations, are no more. They’ve also put in for a thorough going-over of how things are run at all levels to find the weak spots and set the apparatus right.
The statement says the parent body and its wings will be put back together in time. There was no explanation given for why, but the party made it clear it is in this to be stronger for whatever comes next.
Rebel numbers and the Speaker move
Some time before this, 58 TMC MLAs made their way to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose with letters in hand. They were there to put forward Ritabrata Banerjee as the head of the legislature party, something of a response to his being shown the door earlier in the week.
They also put Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Shiuli Saha forward as deputies, and Raghunathganj’s Akhruzzaman for chief whip. In their letter they made a point of calling Mamata Banerjee the chairperson, while making it plain they didn’t accept Abhishek Banerjee’s say-so on these matters.
To make a break for it and not be disqualified under the rules, you need two-thirds of your side. With 80 TMC MLAs, that means 54. If the Speaker goes along with the rebels, they have what it takes to be seen as a bloc of their own.
How the conflict escalated
If you go back to May 6, when some of the new MLAs met at Mamata Banerjee’s home, you’ll find the roots of this. After the loss in the polls, they let the leadership have the final say on who would be in charge.
Then the TMC told the Assembly it was to be Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as leader of the opposition, with Nayana Bandyopadhyay and Ashima Patra as his number twos and Firhad Hakim as whip. The secretariat held off, saying there should be a proper meeting for that. The dissidents said their names were used without their say; the leadership says otherwise.
Things came to a head with the ousting of Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha. And with an old-timer like Javed Khan in with the dissidents, the challenge to the current setup has some weight to it now.
Official stance and stakes ahead
Kunal Ghosh, for one, has no patience for it. He called the dissidents’ actions a betrayal and said any hard feelings should have been sorted in-house. His line is the party will get past this and remain one under Mamata.
On social media, the TMC put it down to some soul-searching and a review of the organisation. To those watching from the outside, it is about as far-reaching a call as the TMC has made since it was put together, and it comes on the heels of a stinging loss and a fight for the reins.
What to keep an eye on as this plays out:
– Will the Speaker give the nod to a new bloc
– When we can expect to hear about the new committees
– What the anti-defection law has to say about it
– Who is really in the driver’s seat for the opposition
What comes next
It all may come down to the Speaker and whether he validates the dissidents. That will tell us who has the upper hand in the Assembly. Until then, the TMC’s machinery is on hold for the duration of the review.
For the people on the ground, having their committees taken away is a case of uncertainty. The leadership is making a play for a quick fix, hoping that a bit of scrutiny and reorganisation will have everyone in line for the next round.
