Ritabrata Banerjee named LoP after 58 of 80 TMC MLAs back new bloc

Kolkata: Expelled Trinamool MLA Ritabrata Banerjee was on Wednesday recognised as Leader of the Opposition by the West Bengal Assembly Speaker, with backing by 58 Trinamool MLAs, even as the dissident Trinamool camp urged Mamata Banerjee to serve as its chief adviser.

The Speaker accepted the resolution after more than two-thirds of Trinamool's 80 MLAs endorsed the new bloc. "We had a two-thirds majority and our claim has been accepted by the Speaker. We have followed all constitutional principles while making the claim," Banerjee said.

The Speaker also accepted another proposal in the resolution nominating Ritabrata as the Leader of the Opposition, Siuli Saha, Javed Ahmed Khan and Sandipan Saha as the three Deputy Leaders of the Opposition, and Akhruzzaman as the Chief Whip of the official legislative party of the Trinamool Congress's new bloc in the Assembly.


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Apart from Ritabrata's appointment as LoP, Akhruzzaman, the MLA from Raghunathganj, has been selected as Chief Whip, while Shiuli Saha, Javed Ahmed Khan and Sandipan Saha have been named Deputy LoP.

Ritabrata Banerjee said the new camp had appealed to former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to be the adviser to the new opposition.

Ritabrata also made it clear that they have no connection with Abhishek Banerjee. In the resolution submitted earlier in the day, Mamata Banerjee was acknowledged as the supreme leader of the party.