Mamata Banerjee’s first post-poll public event in Kolkata today; uncertainty over party MLAs’ turnout

Mamata Banerjee will lead a sit-in protest in Kolkata amid post-election tensions within the Trinamool Congress. Internal rifts and expulsions of MLAs have sparked uncertainty over party unity as speculation grows about widening factional instability 

Kolkata: As Trinamool Congress supremo and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to hit the streets on Tuesday afternoon for the first time since her party’s landslide defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections, uncertainties are brewing over the participation of her own party legislators.

The event involves a sit-in-demonstration. As per the schedule, Banerjee will sit in protest for two hours from 2 pm to 4 pm at the Y-channel in central Kolkata on issues like the demolition of illegal buildings in Kolkata and the eviction of hawkers illegally encroaching railway lands.

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However, developments since Monday night, soon after expulsion of the two-party legislators, namely Sandipan Saha from Entally in North Kolkata and Ritabrata Banerjee from Uluberia (Purba) in Howrah District, have posed questions on the number of party MLAs who would be accompanying the former Chief Minister in her first public programme since her party’s as well as her personal defeat in the Assembly elections.

Sandipan and Ritabrata were expelled from the party on charges of anti-party activities on Monday afternoon, soon after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari informed media persons that a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe had been initiated into the case of mismatches in signatures of the Trinamool Congress legislators.

Sandipan and Ritabrata both had updated the Assembly Speaker, Rathindra Bose, about the mismatch in signatures. Since then, both Sandipan and Ritabrata have been very active in uniting many of the Trinamool Congress legislators in their support.

Speculations are rife following a meeting of these two expelled legislators with two other veteran four-time Trinamool Congress legislators, namely Javed Ahmed Khan from Kasba in South 24 Parganas district and Seuli Saha from Keshpur in West Midnapore district, at the MLA’s hostel, located at Kyd Street in central Kolkata, that continued till Monday night.

Both Seuli Saha and Khan were members of the previous Mamata Banerjee-led state cabinet in West Bengal. Saha’s replies about the agenda of the meeting further brewed speculation of a possible and bigger turmoil within Trinamool Congress in the coming days.

“We came to the MLA’s hostel to check out the rooms allotted for us there. We met Sandipan and Ritabrata there. So, we chatted over a cup of tea. Remember, they have been expelled from the party. But they are not expelled as legislators,” Seuli Saha said.

Since both Sandipan and Ritabrata have been expelled from the party, they will be able to continue as legislators for the rest of their term of five years, and the provision of the Anti-Defection Law will not be applicable to them.

Party insiders aware of the development said that besides Khan and Saha, many other Trinamool Congress legislators, including minority legislators from minority-dominated Murshidabad and Malda districts, are in touch with both the expelled legislators.

In such a situation, the turnout of the party MLAs at Mamata Banerjee’s first public programme on Tuesday after the elections will give an indication of the turmoil within Trinamool Congress. Currently, Trinamool Congress’ MLA strength in the 294-seat West Bengal Assembly is 80.