TMC haemorrhage: Saayoni Ghosh and old loyalist Mala Roy in breakaway camp, Sushmita resigns

NEW DELHI: In a fresh jolt to former Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool MP Sushmita Dev resigned from both Rajya Sabha and the party on Wednesday, and dropped in for a meeting with Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma at his Delhi residence.

Sushmita is the second RS MP from the party to quit. On Monday, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy resigned from the Upper House and Trinamool after levelling allegations against the party.

Sources within the rebel camp said they have secured the support of at least 19 Lok Sabha MPs - two-thirds of the party's strength of 28 - and will claim to represent its parliamentary wing in the House. This tactic is similar to that of the rebel faction consisting of majority MLAs, which has captured the party's legislative wing in the Bengal assembly.

In a sign of the extent of Trinamool's unraveling, Saayoni Ghosh, a vocal Mamata loyalist, and three Muslim MPs are supporting the breakaway faction, which is set to align with the BJP-led NDA govt at the Centre.



Rebel camp MP Satabdi Roy said, "I do not know whether Saayoni has signed (the letter from the rebel bloc to the Speaker), but the others did." Saayoni has not spoken on the issue and remained unreachable on Thursday. The other name being floated as part of the rebel camp is Mala Roy, a long-time Mamata loyalist and Kolkata South MP.

'Rebel MLAs, MPs to stake claim to TMC'





Sources said Mala Roy may have joined the Lok Sabha rebels led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. Both Saayoni and Mala were among the Trinamool office-bearers Mamata had recently named after reconstituting her party's organisational units in a bid to quell unrest. Mala, too, did not respond to calls made to her.

A source said rebel Trinamool MPs and MLAs would join forces to stake claim to the party. This tactic mirrors the one adopted by the breakaway Shiv Sena and NCP factions in Maharashtra. Both groups were later recognised by Election Commission as the original parties and are now BJP allies.

The rebel ranks in Lok Sabha have now touched 19 - Kakoli, Satabdi, Saayoni, Mala, Bapi Haldar, Partha Bhowmick, Asit Kumar Mal, Yusuf Pathan, Khalilur Rahaman, Abu Taher Khan, Mitali Bag, Kalipada Soren, Sharmila Sarkar, Rachna Banerjee, Jagdish Chandra Barma Basunia, Arup Chakraborty, Deepak Adhikari (Dev), June Maliah and Prasun Banerjee.

Sushmita wrote in her resignation letter, "I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect. I convey my sincere gratitude to your Excellency, Hon'ble Deputy Chairman and all functionaries of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for extending all help and cooperation during my tenure as a Member of the Rajya Sabha." While Sushmita refused to comment on Mamata, she told reporters when asked about reports of her joining BJP, "When I take a decision, I will let you know." She asserted that she resigned due to "personal and political reasons".

"I don't want to be in a situation where I am in two boats at the same time. That is not the right way to do it... because with the family background and upbringing I have, I have never stayed in one party and served another party," she said. She made it clear that her political future lies in Assam and that Trinamool - more so now - lacked a narrative for states beyond Bengal.

(With inputs from Dipawali Mitra)