'Double Engine Opposition': Why a Divided TMC Benefits Suvendu More Than BJP

"This is Suvendu's doing. He's one of the leaders who built the TMC from the ground up," one political expert said.

By offering Mamata Banerjee the position of 'advisor', should she choose to take it, Ritabrata Banerjee and the rebel MLAs have essentially made a bid to wrest power out of the hands of both Didi and Abhishek Banerjee.

(Photo: Altered by Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

'Tis the season of raincoats and turncoats in West Bengal. In the wake of the biggest rebellion the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has seen since its inception, senior party leader Kunal Ghosh stated, "The TMC is Mamata Banerjee, and without her, there is no party."

The brewing political strom was perhaps discernible in the sweltering heat of 2 June, when a haggard yet determined-looking Mamata met with hundreds of her followers gathered at Kolkata's Esplanade. The sit-in protest—her first since losing power to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—was in response to the increasing attacks on her party workers and leaders, including the party's General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who was recently attacked with eggs and stones in Sonarpur.

The former Bengal Chief Minister asserted she "won't die" till she brought down the BJP. However, just a day later, Mamata was hit with the squall of rebellion that has splintered her party into two factions—the Mamata loyalists and the anti-Abhishek lobby—in a bid to wrest power out of the hands of both leaders.

Led by recently expelled first-time MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, who's now been named the Leader of Opposition (LoP), at least 58 rebel MLAs christened themselves as the "real" Trinamool legislature party. Ritabrata maintained that Mamata was their leader—and that he did not intend to split the party. However, he told reporters the party no longer belonged to her as it had been "hijacked by a corporate organisation led by Abhishek".

Even as the TMC's fate is still unclear, political experts point out to The Quint that the faction is likely to become a potential "second home" for Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari should he ever need an exit strategy from the BJP.

Though not all in Ritabrata's faction are Suvendu supporters, they are all anti-Abhishek, they opine.

A Brewing Rift and Political Opportunism

Ritabrata started his political career with student politics in the early 2000s. An alumnus of Kolkata’s Ashutosh College, he was in the CPI(M) till 2017.

The first cracks within the TMC emerged after Ritabrata's expulsion in the wake of the "signgate" controversy right after the 2026 election results. Ritabrata and Sandipan Saha, among others, alleged that the party's decision to elect Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the LoP was not in consensus with all. They even alleged that their signatures had been forged after Abhishek wrote a letter to the Assembly Speaker, endorsing Sovandeb.

The TMC expelled both MLAs for "anti-party activities", bringing its number down from 80 to 78 in the Assembly. The West Bengal Crime Investigation Department is currently investigating the matter. Soon after the rift was out in the open, the party announced on X the dissolution of all its organisational committees in West Bengal, as well as a comprehensive review of its structure and performance.

Rejecting claims that this meant the party itself was being dissolved, TMC spokesperson Anirban Banerjee told The Quint called the dissolution "an organisational rejig".

"It's still the same symbol, same party. No legal procedure has been initiated yet. If they do choose to take forward a formal split, it is likely that they will get to keep the symbol, and that Mamata's TMC will have to look for another one. This is because they have the backing of the BJP—that is clear as the light of day," he alleged.

"There is no such thing as Ritabrata's TMC. Mamata Banerjee is and will remain the true leader of the party. This is an attempted coup."

Anirban Banerjee

Anirban further alleged that the party (referring to the top leadership which remains loyal to Mamata), was not even formally made aware of who the 58 MLAs in the Ritabrata faction were.

A Split in the Making?

Even before the poll results, the TMC had been facing a rift over ticket distribution and the growing influence of Abhishek's impersonal, corporatised style of politics.

Within the pro-Mamata and anti-Abhishek factions existed multiple fragments who long wanted to the subvert the two leaders. By the time the 2026 Assembly election was fought, the smaller power centres had started running parallel to the superpowers, making the top leadership vulnerable to attacks from multiple centres.

While a split like the one that the TMC is witnessing now was unexpected, those in the know state that the possibility of the party splintering into multiple micro-fragments and interest groups was a reality that the leadership was aware of.

"The desertion Mamata is facing today is a direct fallout of the beneficiary politics model that she perpetuated not just among her voters but also within the party itself. By treating leaders as her beneficiaries, she managed to create several parallel power centres that could eventually challenge her own power," Arka Deb, Kolkata-based journalist and editor of Inscript.me, points out, calling the split a "masterstroke" by Suvendu.

Shiv Sena Redux? 

While some have dubbed the TMC rebellion as a Shiv Sena redux, with Ritabrata playing the role of Eknath Shinde, Sayantan Ghosh, political commentator and professor at St Xaviers' College, Kolkata, said the split does not follow the Maharashtra model. He opined that in Bengal, a divided TMC is likely to benefit Suvendu more than the BJP as the party itself, unlike in Maharashtra, does not need any support from the Opposition to stay in power.

"In Maharashtra, it was clear that Shinde's Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) were to ally with the BJP, and thus its members would, in a way, be under the BJP's wing. No such promises have been made here. In fact, party leader Swapan Dasgupta recently maintained that the BJP was not accepting any TMC leaders as of now. It would not suit the BJP narrative."

It does, however, create a weak Opposition that can be controlled more easily by Suvendu, who has a back-up party in Ritabrata's TMC faction, should the BJP choose to boot him out of the CM's chair.

"Suvendu has no love or loyalty for the BJP beyond his own performance and prowess in a personal capacity. He is the one to have slayed the giant and his personal arch-nemesis to become the Chief Minister. It's his personal story arch, not the BJP's. It isn't surprising that he would be looking out for himself," Sayantan Ghosh added.

Analysts and TMC insiders, however, feel that for many, the split was a matter of survival.

"TMC MLAs were not feeling safe. After the attack on Abhishek, it became clear that no one was going to protect the leaders on the streets. By siding with the BJP, in a way, the MLAs might be trying to negotiate some terms for safety such as police protection. In return, the understanding is that the Opposition will not oppose the BJP as brutally," a TMC insider told The Quint upon request of anonymity.

Many leaders who pledged allegiance to the new TMC have active cases against them or are mired in controversy.

"Be it Topsia MLA Javed Khan whose son, a councillor, has some 90 properties to his name, or Rathin Ghosh who has been under the ED's scanner in connection with the civil recruitment scam, these leaders have weak spots. If we see these cases being dropped anytime in the near future, then we would know that this 'B-Team' of the TMC is meant as a washing machine."

Arka Deb

Ritabrata, himself, is an accused in a sexual violence case.

Analysts also feel that by creating a "double engine" Opposition, the BJP would be able to quell the Opposition at the grassroots, which has already started percolating by way of anti-encroachment demolitions and hawker-eviction drives.

Making the Opposition its 'B-Team' would also be the smarter way to maintain its pre-poll promise of not accepting TMC turncoats—as doing so could cause face-loss.

Regarding Ritabrata, analysts say he is only the ostentatious face of the rebellion. The strings are being pulled from somewhere else.

"Ritabrata is a novice in TMC. He is not a Shinde. He is a first-time MLA, and despite his background in the Left, it is not likely that he engineered this split. This is Suvendu or someone high up in the BJP who is giving assurance to TMC MLAs against police action through Ritabrata. The TMC leaders steeped in corruption are seeking protection."

Zaad Mahmoud, Political Analyst

Speaking to the media, senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said Ritabrata's gambit was not likely to have a long shelf life, "Would Ritabrata or any of these so-called rebel MLAs have won the election without Mamata Banerjee? They are forgetting that, despite voter disillusionment, whatever votes the party got was due to Mamata, not these leaders".

'Palace-Created Opposition'

One of the reasons that the split is getting the support of so many leaders, including Muslim MLAs, is because of a collective angst against Abhishek.

"The fear of jail and police action unites people across religion. Plus this is the BJP's strategy to demolish the TMC," political analyst Zaad Mahmood said. "This is an unprecedented and unimaginable power grab by second-or third-rung leaders who have some connection to the incumbent regime and can provide protection against police action".

Senior CPI(M) leader Mohammad Salim, meanwhile, alleged that the split was the creation of both the TMC and the BJP.

"Ritabrata may now be the LoP, but his group is not even a party yet. This is a legislative block conveniently created as an 'LoB'—'Loyal Opposition Block'. The main aim of these 'rebel' leaders is to come out of their hideouts after the election results that has rejected the then ruling party."

Mohammad Salim

Incidentally, 17 of the 58 MLAs that have sided with Ritabrata's faction are Muslim, a significant point if one is to believe the BJP as the engineer of the split. Salim nevertheless felt, "Those who had joined the TMC to be associated with power can’t survive without power. It’s a last-ditch effort to save themselves."

Salim, who had led the committee that eventually signed off on Ritabrata's expulsion from the CPI(M) for "anti-party activities" in 2017, further added, "Lastly, it’s the BJP’ politics to occupy even the Opposition space."

Soon after announcement of the split, on 3 June, rebel TMC leaders like Ritabrata, Sandipan Saha, and Javed Khan attended a review meeting held by Suvendu. Leaders perceived to be "Team Mamata", including Kunal Ghosh, Firhad Hakim, and others were also in attendance, sparking further rumours.

Kunal Ghosh and other Mamata loyalists clarified to the media that their attendance was not a mark of rebellion, but an effort to work out administrative roles. They also did not attend the rebels' meet and were only part of the CM's meeting. Sources within the TMC, however, told The Quint that many of the Mamata loyalists have also allegedly been contacted by the BJP.

Incidentally, Ritabrata and Suvendu met, allegedly by chance, at New Delhi's Banga Bhavan on 22 May before the Chief Minister's scheduled meetings in the national capital. As per reports, the meeting was "routine" and Ritabrata himself spoke of it later, stating Suvendu spoke about Opposition MLAs being invited to administrative meetings, and that he would attend if informed.

A BJP watcher in New Delhi also told The Quint that while the drama played out post poll, the split was inked in saffron before the elections. "This is Suvendu's doing. He was one of the leaders who built the TMC from the ground up. His exit created a lot of backlash within the party against Mamata and Abhishek. He is the only one to have engineered this split," the insider said, requesting anonymity.

"It was always the BJP's Plan B to split TMC to get the numbers in case they fell short. And Suvendu was their man for it," he added.

Not one to take a blow lying down, the TMC has reorganised its committees and made new appointments. Coming on the back of reports of further revolt among TMC MPs, an AITC National Working Committee meeting was convened at chairperson Mamata's Kalighat residence on 5 June, following which key appointments were announced.

Significant announcements included the addition of senior leaders and MPs Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen as National Joint Secretaries, to "assist" Abhishek, as stressed by MP Kalyan Banerjee in a press conference.

Does the move show that Mamata is finally reading the writing on the wall and dethroning "the prince", as Abhishek is scathingly called by his opponents? Well, for many who had voted for "change" and the TMC in 2011, the rejig might be too little and way too late.