The crisis within the Trinamool Congress deepened on Sunday, 14 June as senior leader and Mamata Banerjee confidant Sudip Bandyopadhyay threw his weight behind the rebel camp, while dissident MPs met Union minister Bhupender Yadav in Delhi ahead of a planned move to seek recognition as the “real TMC” parliamentary group from Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla.
Bandyopadhyay said he had decided to remain with the dissident faction after appeals from rebel MPs and MLAs. However, he clarified that he was yet to sign the letter that will be submitted to the Speaker and would do so only in the presence of West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, who they are expected to meet later in the evening.
Earlier in the day, the MPs met Yadav at his residence in Delhi to finalise their strategy ahead of Monday’s meeting with Birla. The meeting came a day after Bandyopadhyay, long regarded as one of Mamata Banerjee’s closest associates, joined the rebel camp following discussions with Union home minister Amit Shah and Yadav in Delhi.
“I had a meeting with Amit Shah,” Bandyopadhyay told reporters on Sunday. “Most of the MPs and MLAs wanted this to be a successful initiative. They wanted the party to continue under the guidance of Mamata Banerjee, with her playing a role similar to that of a chief adviser and party leader. Their appeal genuinely touched me. Therefore, I decided that I could continue to stay with them.”
At the same time, Bandyopadhyay reiterated that he had not yet signed the letter to be submitted to Birla. “I will sign only in the presence of Suvendu Adhikari,” he said.
