Ritabrata Banerjee is the man driving the split in Trinamool Congress. He is backed by 56 out of 60 MLAs for position of Leader of Opposition. Who is he?
Published: June 3, 2026, 4:59 PM IST
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Former TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee. File image/ANI
Many industry experts speculate whether Trinamool Congress is headed for a Shiv Sena-style split following the ongoing infighting in the party. On Monday, TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee was expelled along with Sandipan Saha for anti-party activities.
Now, the party is in the middle of a tussle over who will be the Leader of the Opposition. Most MLAs are backing Banerjee for the position.
Who is Ritabrata Banerjee?
Ritabrata Banerjee emerged victorious from the Uluberia Purba constituency in this year’s West Bengal Assembly elections, defeating BJP’s Rudra Prosad Banerjee by 11,838 votes on a Trinamool Congress ticket. His win came despite a broader electoral setback for the TMC, as the BJP registered a landslide victory across the state.
Ritabrata’s expulsion from the TMC is not the first such episode in his political career. He previously served as a Rajya Sabha MP for the CPI(M) until 2017, when he was expelled from the party over alleged anti-party activities. He later joined the TMC and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the party in 2024 for a 15-month term.
Party leadership lost touch with TMC
Speaking to Hindustan Times before approaching Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose to seek recognition as the official opposition in the House, backed by 58 MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee said he continues to feel aligned with the Trinamool Congress. At the same time, he accused the party leadership of losing touch with workers and voters at the grassroots level.
“I believe I still belong to the Trinamool. Those who claim that they are running Trinamool, which means grassroot, have actually lost touch with the grassroot level. One person tried to corporatize the party. The people didn’t accept it. People want a better version of TMC,” he told HT.
An important detail in the documents filed by the dissident MLAs is that they continue to describe Mamata Banerjee as their “chairperson”. This indicates that their objections may be aimed at the functioning of the legislature party’s leadership rather than at Banerjee herself, according to PTI.
60 rebel MLAs back expelled leader
Expelled Trinamool Congress MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha have submitted a letter claiming the support of 60 MLAs while reaffirming Mamata Banerjee as the party’s leader. The letter, signed by 58 MLAs with two more expected to sign, also proposes Ritabrata’s name for the post of Leader of the Opposition.
The move is being seen as an attempt to corner Abhishek Banerjee, whom Ritabrata has repeatedly accused of running the party like a corporate entity. It is also likely to put Mamata Banerjee in a bind, forcing her to choose between her nephew and the majority of the party’s legislators.
