TMC rebel Ritabrata Banerjee chosen Bengal LoP, claims speaker accepted their legislature party status

EXpelled TMC leader Ritabrata Banerjee was on midweek decreed leader of the oppositeness (LoP) in the w Bengal assemblage after claiming the support of 58 of the 80 MLAs elected in the recently concluded polls.The West Bengal speaker has accepted a letter signed by the 58 MLAs. Two other MLAs are also part of the group, but they are currently outside the state, HT has learnt.Ritabrata Banerjee new Bengal LoPAt a press conference on Wednesday, the rebel Trinamool faction announced that expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee has the support of 58 MLAs out of the total 80 elected to the assembly from TMC supremo and former chief minister Mamata Banerjee's party.“The TMC legislative party is a team of 58 MLAs who won on the TMC symbol. Two other MLAs are likely to join us. Once they formally extend their support, our strength will rise further,” he said. He said the speaker had approved the revised composition of the legislature party and that the office designated for the LoP had been made available to him.The rebel camp also announced a new leadership team for the legislature party.Banerjee said Akhruzzaman had been named chief whip, while senior legislators Javed Ahmed Khan, Sandeepan Saha, Sabina Yasmin and Shiuli Saha had been appointed deputy leaders."The letters communicating these appointments have already been submitted to the Speaker," he said.Ritabrata's appeal to Mamata BanerjeeThe rebel TMC leader urged party supremo Mamata Banerjee to continue guiding the legislature party despite the ongoing revolt within the organisation."We would request Mamata Banerjee to play the role of the chief adviser of the legislative party," he said.However, he suggested that the rebel camp had minimal political interaction with Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee.What led to the rift?This comes after the TMC appointed senior MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader of the opposition in the assembly amid allegations that the signatures of several party legislators had been forged on official documents.Ritabrata Banerjee and MLA Sandipan Saha had raised concerns over the signatures on an earlier letter submitted to the Speaker in support of Chattopadhyay's candidature for the LoP post.Following their complaints, the West Bengal criminal investigation department (CID) launched an inquiry. The party then expelled both leaders.Senior Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh earlier said the differences could have been settled within the party and accused the dissident group of "backstabbing" the organisation during a challenging period.With inputs from agencies