'Mamata welcome as chief advisor': Rebel TMC faction elects Arup Roy chairperson, names new office-bearers

THe Trinamool Congress' renegade sect, led by Leader of the oppositeness Ritabrata Banerjee, on mon took its biggest organisational tread yet against the party's established leadership. They have elected senior MLA Arup Roy as chairperson and announced a new set of office-bearers at a special session in Kolkata.Addressing reporters after the meeting, Banerjee said former minister Aroop Biswas and MLAs Firhad Hakim, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin had been appointed vice-chairpersons of the faction. He also said the proceedings of the special session would be communicated to the Election Commission."It's not about being real or not, we are TMC and will inform the EC about today's special session proceedings," Banerjee said, as per PTI.He added that if former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee wished to join the new leadership structure, "she is most welcome" to serve as the chief advisor of the faction.ALSO READ | Abhishek Banerjee cites 10th schedule to call TMC rebels' merger 'invalid'. What does law say?Rebels cite 'constitutional crisis'The meeting, held at a five-star hotel in New Town, was attended by rebel MLAs, councillors and former elected representatives from several districts. Organisers described it as a special session convened to address what they called a "constitutional crisis" within the party.According to Banerjee, the party's constitution requires the formation of a national working committee every three years and the last such committee was constituted in February 2022. The rebel camp said that the organisational structure was not renewed after its tenure expired.The session first constituted a national working committee that initially included Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Biplab Mitra, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Sabina Yasmin, Sandipan Saha, Rathin Ghosh, Javed Khan and Ritabrata Banerjee before being expanded to 30 members.ALSO READ | Keeping up with UP: TMC meltdown and future of regional partiesNew office-bearers announcedThe committee then unanimously elected Roy, the MLA from Howrah Central, as chairperson. Along with the four vice-chairpersons, Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha were named general secretaries, while Akhruzzaman Ansari was appointed treasurer. The faction also resolved to appoint an auditor to review the party's finances.Portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and B R Ambedkar were placed on stage. Absent were photographs of party founder Mamata Banerjee and senior leader Abhishek Banerjee, both of whom have long been the dominant faces of the party.TMC crisis after election defeatThe organisational exercise comes amid a split within the TMC following the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.Only days ago, a majority of TMC MLAs backed Ritabrata Banerjee's claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition, rejecting the choice favoured by the Mamata Banerjee-led leadership. The rebel camp has since claimed its strength in the Assembly has risen to around 65 legislators.The crisis has also spread to Parliament. Recently, a large group of TMC Lok Sabha MPs broke away from the party's parliamentary wing and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), while extending support to the BJP-led NDA.(With PTI inputs)