TMC stares at split: Firhad Hakim resigns as Kolkata Mayor

The Trinamool Congress plunged deeper into crisis on Wednesday after Firhad Hakim resigned as Kolkata Mayor with the approval of party chief Mamata Banerjee.

This comes hours after expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee was recognised as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly with the backing of 60 legislators.

The rebellion has escalated within the TMC.

Ritabrata, who was expelled from the Trinamool for alleged anti-party activities, was formally recognised by Assembly Speaker Rathindranath Bose as the Leader of the Opposition after 60 MLAs submitted letters supporting his candidature.

Speaking after taking charge, Ritabrata insisted the rebel camp was not challenging Mamata Banerjee’s leadership. “We are the principal opposition. We have fought as a team,” he said after being handed the keys to the LoP’s chamber. “Will request Mamata Banerjee to keep advising us as always while staying at the helm of affairs.” 

The former Left leader, who joined the Trinamool in 2018, also took a swipe at the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, describing the rebellion as a “collective fight against individualism”.

Earlier in the day, 58 Trinamool MLAs submitted a letter to the Speaker proposing Ritabrata as Leader of the Opposition and claimed their faction represented the party’s “real” legislative wing.

Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin and Seuli Saha were named deputy leaders in the House, while Akhruzzaman was appointed chief whip.

The move directly challenged a proposal submitted last week by Abhishek Banerjee, who had recommended Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition and Firhad Hakim as chief whip.

That proposal was not accepted after Ritabrata and Sandipan alleged that signatures of several Trinamool MLAs backing Sobhandeb had been forged. 

The allegations prompted the ordering of a CID investigation. The agency has also summoned Abhishek Banerjee for questioning in connection with the matter.

On Monday, the Trinamool expelled Ritabrata and Sandipan amid speculation that they were attempting to engineer a split within the party.

Despite the escalating confrontation, Ritabrata maintained that the rebel legislators were not seeking to break away from the Trinamool and would continue to function under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership.