Expelled Trinamool Congress MLA Ritabrata Banerjee addressing a press conference on June 3, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Sahay Singh
Expelled Trinamool Congress MLA Ritabrata Banerjee was appointed Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday (June 3, 2026). A letter with the support of 58 MLAs of the Trinamool nominating the Uluberia Purba MLA was submitted to the Speaker of West Bengal Assembly Rathindra Bose, who appointed Mr. Ritabrata as the LoP.
Mr. Ritabrata, who was handed over the keys to the LoP chamber in the presence of the rebel MLAs of the Trinamool, said, “We submitted a letter signed by 58 MLAs to the Speaker. So far, the number is 58, and it can increase in future.”
“We have the support of two-thirds of the Trinamool Congress MLAs and as per parliamentary practices we are the real Opposition. We will serve as a responsible Opposition in the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly. We will criticise the government but there will no opposition for opposition’s sake,” he said at a press conference.
Akhruzzaman, the MLA from Raghunathganj in Murshidabad district, was appointed as the chief whip of the Trinamool. Four rebel MLAs – Javed Khan, Sabina Yasmin, Sandipan Saha, and Sheuli Saha – were appointed deputy leaders in the House.
Mr. Ritabrata and Mr. Akhruzzaman reached out to Trinamool founder and chairperson Mamata Banerjee saying, “We appeal to Mamata Banerjee to remain as a main advisor to the Trinamool Legislature party.”
Existential crisis
The development poses the biggest existential challenge for the Trinamool, which suffered a loss to the BJP in the recent Assembly polls. The Trinamool was reduced to 80 seats while the BJP won 208 seats in 294-member house.
The Trinamool had nominated ten-time MLA and veteran leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the LoP on May 20. But the letter nominating Mr. Chattopadhyay had names of several MLAs written in block letters and two MLAs – Mr. Ritabrata and Mr. Saha – had written to the Speaker alleging that their signatures were forged. The letter, which came with the signature of Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, prompted an investigation by the West Bengal CID.
On Monday, the Trinamool had expelled Mr. Ritibrata and Mr. Saha after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari made a public announcement of the investigation. Since his expulsion, Mr. Ritabrata has been reaching out to Trinamool MLAs garnering support in his favour.
The rebel Trinamool leaders said Mr. Abhishek, the party general secretary, had “no connection with the representatives of Trinamool legislators of the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly”. They said that if found guilty, the Assembly Speaker can write to Lok Sabha Speaker urging him to disqualify Mr. Abhishek as an MP.
Mamata loyalists at CM’s meeting
Earlier in the day, about 20 MLAs of the Trinamool, which included Mamata Banerjee loyalists such as Kunal Ghosh and Firhad Hakim, participated in an administrative meeting at the West Bengal State Secretariat, chaired by the Chief Minister. Later in the day, Mr. Hakim resigned as the Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
While Ms. Banerjee’s loyalists said that an expelled Trinamool leader cannot be appointed LoP, it is becoming evident with every passing day that the chairperson’s grip over her party is loosening. Hundreds of local Trinamool leaders – including councillors, former and sitting MLAs – have been arrested since the party was voted out of power on May 4.
On Monday, Ms. Banerjee held a protest at Esplanade in Kolkata, but it did not get any response as most of the party’s elected MLAs remained absent.
Published – June 03, 2026 04:29 pm IST
