TMC crisis highlights: Interim protection for Abhishek Banerjee in signature forgery case; TMC revolt deepens

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee arrives to appear before the West Bengal CID to face questions in the signature forgery case over the party's choice of Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, at Bhabani Bhawan in Kolkata.

TMC crisis highlights: The Trinamool Congress (TMC), founded by former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, is witnessing an unprecedented phase of internal turbulence. Over the past few days, resignations by senior leaders, the emergence of rebel camps among both MLAs and MPs, speculation over a Congress merger and fresh organisational challenges have collectively raised questions about the party's internal cohesion.

Meanwhile, party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee reached CID headquarters in Kolkata on Thursday for questioning in the signature fraud case.

Here's a look at the key developments

Rebel MLAs stake claim as principal Opposition bloc: The first major sign of the internal split emerged in the West Bengal Assembly, where Speaker Rathindra Nath Bose last week recognised 58 rebel TMC MLAs, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, as the principal Opposition bloc.

A parallel rebellion among MPs: The political unrest is no longer confined to the Assembly. A separate faction has also emerged among TMC MPs. Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who resigned from all party posts last week, said she has the backing of nearly 20 MPs and that the group is willing to support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Several prominent names feature in the rebel camp: The dissident group is not limited to lesser-known lawmakers. The rebel camp includes several high-profile leaders. Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh and Kolkata Dakshin MP Mala Roy joined the dissident lawmakers on Wednesday. Other MPs said to be part of the camp include Abu Taher, Asit Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Kalipada Soren, Jagadish Basunia, Prasun Banerjee, Sharmila Sarkar, Satabdi Roy, Yusuf Pathan, June Malia, Khalilur Rahaman, Bapi Halder, Rachana Banerjee, Mitali Bag, Dev Adhikari and Partha Bhowmick.

Sushmita Dev resigns: Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan accepted the resignation of Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev with effect from June 10.

Earlier, senior TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and the party's primary membership, criticising the party's performance in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections and describing the verdict as the outcome of “15 years of anarchical rule” under the Mamata Banerjee-led government.

Congress merger speculation: The internal rift has also fuelled speculation about a possible merger between the TMC and the Congress, especially after Mamata Banerjee met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday.

However, conflicting signals have emerged. While TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee met Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday to “explore possibilities to deepen ties”, the Congress has dismissed reports of any merger. People familiar with the matter told HT that there is no proposal under consideration for the two parties to merge.

Mayor resignations and an arrest: Firhad Hakim and Krishna Chakraborty resigned as the heads of the Kolkata and Bidhannagar municipal corporations last week. On Monday, Hakim, regarded as a prominent minority face of the TMC, appeared to join the rebel group.

Meanwhile, TMC leader Jahangir Khan was arrested near the India-Nepal border in connection with an extortion case, according to police. The arrest came after he had allegedly been evading law enforcement agencies for several days amid multiple criminal investigations.