Bengal Assembly issues notices to 10 rebel TMC MLAs in defection case

The West Bengal Assembly Secretariat on Tuesday issued notices to 10 MLAs aligned with the rebel Trinamool Congress camp, asking them to reply within a week to a disqualification petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction. The move has pushed the party's internal power struggle into a formal anti-defection proceeding in the Assembly.

The notices came a day after senior TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay moved the Supreme Court, seeking the disqualification of Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee and nine other legislators. The dispute is now playing out across multiple forums, including the Assembly, the courts, Parliament and the Election Commission.

The notices were issued to Ritabrata Banerjee, Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Sandipan Saha, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Shiuli Saha, Sabina Yasmin, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan and Rathin Ghosh. Assembly sources said they have been asked to respond within seven days.

The matter came to light late on Tuesday night, with Ansari confirming that the notices had been received. "We will discuss the matter within the party and respond accordingly on time," he said.

Chattopadhyay, who is the Mamata Banerjee-led faction's nominee for the leader of the opposition post in the Assembly, had written to Speaker Rathin Bose on July 7 seeking the disqualification of the 10 MLAs, alleging that they had acted against the party's interests.

The issue of the leader of the opposition's appointment is already before the Calcutta High Court, where Chattopadhyay has challenged the Speaker's decision to recognise Ritabrata Banerjee for the post.

The anti-defection proceedings arise from developments after Ritabrata Banerjee was elected leader of the opposition even though the Mamata Banerjee-led camp had nominated Chattopadhyay.

The rebel camp has claimed the support of 65 of the party's 80 MLAs. It later elected Ansari as chief whip and carried out a parallel organisational exercise, challenging the authority of the party leadership.

The crisis followed the TMC's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections in May. The confrontation has also spread to Parliament, where 20 Lok Sabha MPs aligned with the rebel camp quit the TMC and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, which has aligned with the BJP-led NDA.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has also issued notices to the 20 rebel MPs on petitions seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law. Those notices followed the Supreme Court's decision to hear a plea seeking an expeditious decision by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on the disqualification petitions.

The Mamata Banerjee-led camp has argued that the actions of the rebel legislators amount to defection and warrant disqualification from the Assembly. Chattopadhyay's plea in the Supreme Court seeks action against Ritabrata Banerjee and the nine other MLAs, and TMC's legal team has maintained that they should face consequences for acting in defiance of the party leadership.

Party leader and lawyer Kalyan Banerjee has said the plea seeks the MLAs' disqualification on grounds similar to those cited in the proceedings against the rebel MPs.

The rebel camp, however, has dismissed the move as politically motivated and described the Assembly Secretariat's notices as routine procedure.

Riju Dutta, spokesperson for the Ritabrata Banerjee-aligned TMC camp, said, "The Speaker has sought the replies of the 10 MLAs as part of a routine procedure. There is nothing for the Mamata Banerjee camp TMC to celebrate."

He also said those celebrating the development would have to wait only a few days before the situation became clear.

Separately, the TMC name and its twin-flower-on-grass symbol remain under dispute before the Election Commission, with both camps staking claim to the party's identity, symbol and organisational resources. The Election Commission held discussions with both sides on Saturday, and its decision is awaited.

Meanwhile, an MLA from the Mamata Banerjee camp indicated that choosing these 10 MLAs for the first round of disqualification proceedings was deliberate. He said the remaining legislators were being given "some time" to reconsider their position and return to the Mamata Banerjee camp, while warning that those who did not do so could face serious political consequences.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 16, 2026 08:45 IST