As BJP tables Uniform Civil Code in West Bengal, rival TMC camps brace for battle on the same side

The BJP government's move to introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the West Bengal Assembly on Monday is set to trigger an unusual political contest — one that will play out not only between the ruling party and the opposition, but also between the two rival factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), each eager to emerge as the principal voice against the legislation.

Barely two months after ending the TMC's 15-year rule in the state, the BJP is poised to table one of its most politically significant promises, setting the stage for the first major ideological confrontation of the post-election era.

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The debate is also expected to become the first major parliamentary test of the bitter power struggle within the TMC. Rival camps led by former chief minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee are preparing separate floor strategies, with each determined to claim ownership of the opposition narrative despite sharing broadly similar objections to the Bill.

The proposed legislation seeks to establish a common civil framework governing marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption across all communities, replacing religion-specific personal laws with a uniform legal structure.

Assembly sources said the Bill is likely to be taken up during the latter half of Monday's proceedings, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition and several senior legislators expected to participate in the debate.

Government officials have spent the past several days studying UCC models adopted in states such as Uttarakhand while preparing responses to objections anticipated from the opposition. With a comfortable majority in the Assembly, the BJP is unlikely to face any difficulty in securing the Bill's passage. The political battle, however, is expected to be far more significant than the legislative one.

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At a strategy meeting on Friday, Mamata Banerjee directed leaders aligned with her Kalighat camp to strongly oppose the Bill both inside and outside the Assembly, arguing that it raises serious questions relating to constitutional principles, social consensus and India's pluralistic character.

Leaders from her faction have accused the BJP of using the UCC as an instrument of political polarisation rather than legal reform. Senior party leaders indicated that veteran legislator Sovandeb Chattopadhyay is likely to lead the attack in the House, while Kunal Ghosh could also participate in the debate.

The rival camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee has been preparing independently.

"A matter like the UCC requires extensive discussion and consultation," Banerjee said recently, maintaining that legislation affecting personal laws and family matters should not be rushed through without wider public engagement.

Leaders close to the dissident faction said they have closely examined debates surrounding UCC initiatives in other BJP-ruled states and intend to focus on issues relating to public consultation, constitutional safeguards and the concerns of minority communities.

If the BJP had expected the TMC split to weaken resistance inside the House, Monday's proceedings could present a more complicated picture. Instead of a fragmented opposition, the Assembly may witness two competing TMC factions advancing nearly identical arguments while simultaneously trying to outdo each other politically.

The internal rift has widened steadily since the Assembly election defeat.

The first major rupture came when 58 of the party's 80 MLAs backed expelled TMC legislator Ritabrata Banerjee's claim to the post of Leader of Opposition, rejecting the party leadership's choice of Sovandeb Chattopadhyay. The rebel camp now claims the support of around 65 legislators.

The split has since spread beyond the Assembly. Twenty of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs recently broke away, merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and extended support to the BJP-led NDA. The party has also suffered high-profile resignations from the Rajya Sabha, including that of veteran leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy.

For Mamata Banerjee's camp, Monday's debate offers an opportunity to demonstrate that it remains the BJP's principal ideological challenger despite losing power. For the Ritabrata Banerjee faction, it represents the biggest platform yet to establish itself as the state's dominant opposition force.

Political observers believe the significance of the debate extends well beyond the UCC itself. For the BJP government, it will be the first major test of its ideological agenda since assuming office. For the opposition, it provides an opportunity to challenge one of the saffron party's flagship promises.

For the fractured TMC, however, the debate promises something even more revealing — the spectacle of two rival factions fighting the same political battle separately, each seeking to prove it is the more effective challenger to Bengal's new rulers.