Loyalist Madan Mitra crosses over to rebel camp in fresh blow to Mamata Banerjee's TMC faction

In one of the biggest political gains yet for the rebel Trinamool Congress faction, senior MLA Madan Mitra on Wednesday joined the camp led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, dealing a fresh setback to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction even as he insisted he remained a member of the party.

The veteran Kamarhati legislator announced that he was resigning from all national and state organisational committees of the Mamata Banerjee-aligned "Kalighat TMC" and stepping down as the party's chief whip in the West Bengal Assembly with immediate effect. However, he maintained that his move did not amount to quitting the Trinamool Congress.

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"I have only changed my room, not my house. I am very much in the TMC," Mitra told reporters after meeting Ritabrata Banerjee in the latter's chamber at the Assembly.

Seated alongside the rebel leader, Mitra reiterated that he would relinquish all organisational responsibilities under the Mamata Banerjee faction while continuing as a Trinamool MLA. "I am resigning from all national and state committees of the Kalighat TMC. I am also stepping down as chief whip. But I remain a Trinamool MLA," he said.

The crossover marks the most high-profile defection to the rebel camp since the Trinamool's internal split burst into the open. Ritabrata Banerjee's faction has, over the past few months, challenged Mamata Banerjee's leadership, claiming to represent the "real" Trinamool Congress. The rebels have announced a parallel organisational structure and claimed control of the party headquarters, assertions that have been rejected by the Mamata Banerjee camp.

Speculation over Mitra's political future had intensified a day earlier after he visited the Entally residence of rebel MLA Sandipan Saha. Although Saha was away, Mitra held a lengthy discussion with his father and former MLA Swarnakamal Saha before later speaking to the rebel legislator over the phone, fuelling expectations of Wednesday's dramatic development.

The move also comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate summoned Mitra's wife and two sons in connection with the alleged municipal recruitment scam. While neither Mitra nor the rebel faction linked the summons to his decision, the timing added to the political intrigue surrounding his crossover.

One of the Trinamool Congress' best-known mass leaders and a longtime Mamata Banerjee loyalist, Mitra had in recent months publicly voiced differences with sections of the party leadership while repeatedly insisting he had no plans to leave the party. His decision to align with the Ritabrata Banerjee camp gives the rebels their most prominent political face so far and is likely to strengthen their claim that discontent within the Trinamool extends far beyond a handful of dissident legislators.