Rebel Lok Sabha MPs of TMC meet Union minister Bhupender Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee writes to speaker urging not to recognise any faction

In a response to growing internal dissent within the Trinamool Congress, party’s National General Secretary and Leader of the Party in the Lok Sabha, Abhishek Banerjee, has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging that no recognition be given to any attempt by a section of TMC members to form a separate group or faction independent of the official legislative party. Banerjee’s letter to the speaker emerged when the rebel faction was meeting Union minister Bhupender Yadav at his house on Sunday evening.

The letter, dated June 10, comes amid rebellion by around 19 to 20 of the party’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs, who have sought recognition as a distinct parliamentary bloc and expressed willingness to extend support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

In his letter to the Speaker, Abhishek Banerjee invoked constitutional and legal principles to claim that the TMC’s parliamentary party remains a single bloc. He has stated that the AITC is a single, indivisible political party and that the legislative party derives its existence from the political party. No set of members can unilaterally carve out a parallel group or faction and demand independent recognition, he wrote.

The letter cites the Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court in the Subhash Desai case (2023), which held that the defence of a “split” has been abrogated after the Ninety-first Amendment to the Constitution. It emphasised that the political party, and not the legislature party, is supreme, and that the Speaker recognises the political party rather than rival factions for purposes of disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule.

Banerjee further pointed out that the only lawful way for realignment after the constitutional amendment is through a merger under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule, which requires both the merger of the political party and the switching of at least two-thirds of the legislature party members. No such merger has occurred, he noted.

Any repudiation of the authority of the Party’s Leader or Whip would attract disqualification under the anti-defection law, he warned. The letter also referred to the Speaker’s own Directions on recognition of parties and groups, which do not provide for recognising a faction within an existing party that opposes its authorised leadership.

In the meantime, the dissident TMC MPs met Union minister Bhupender Yadav at his house on Sunday afternoon, ahead of meeting the Lok Sabha Speaker on Monday to claim that they are the ‘real TMC’. As per reports, 19 dissident MPs were present in the meeting. The TMC MPs present at the meeting were Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Rachna Banerjee, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Partha Bhowmick, Arup Chakraborty, Deepak Adhikari, Saayoni Ghosh, Bapi Haldar, Abu Taher Khan, Kalipada Soren Kherwal, Asit Kumar Mal, June Malia, Mitali Bag, Khalilur Rahman, Mala Roy, Satabdi Roy, Sharmila Sarkar, and Yusuf Pathan.

The development marks a major escalation in the crisis that has engulfed the Trinamool Congress following its defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. The rebellion, which began gaining momentum at the state level with disputes over the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition and allegations of forged signatures, has now spilled over into Parliament. Dissident leaders, prominently led by senior MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, have claimed that they represent the “real TMC” and have submitted a representation to the Speaker seeking separate recognition and a change in parliamentary leadership, with demands to remove Abhishek Banerjee from his position as parliamentary party leader.

Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who had earlier resigned from all her organisational posts in the party citing deep mental conflict and disappointment with the leadership, has been at the forefront of the rebel camp. The group, which includes MPs such as Satabdi Roy, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Saayoni Ghosh, Prasun Banerjee, Yusuf Pathan and others, has been actively coordinating its strategy in Delhi. Several rebel MPs have held meetings with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav at his residence, with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari also present in some of these discussions, fuelling speculation about their political realignment.

The rebels have publicly stated that they have the numbers to form a separate bloc and intend to meet the Lok Sabha Speaker on Monday to formally stake their claim for recognition as the authentic parliamentary group of the TMC.

The TMC leadership has maintained that the rebels’ move is legally untenable and has warned of action under the anti-defection provisions. Senior party leaders have described the development as an act of betrayal and urged dissatisfied members to resign if they no longer wish to remain with the organisation.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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