New Delhi, June 3 -- The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal is headed for a vertical split, with nearly 60 dissident legislators set to support expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly - a move that could well establish the splinter group as the official TMC in the state assembly, evoking comparisons with what happened in Maharashtra in 2022. Members of this group have secured signatures from nearly 60 of the TMC's 80 MLAs to support the candidature of Ritabrata. "Our letter seeking recognition as the real TMC is ready. We will hand over the letter to Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose on Wednesday," said a senior leader. Tapas Roy, a minister in Suvendu Adhikari's cabinet in the state -- and like Adhikari himself, an import from the TMC -- posted about a split in his former party on Facebook on Tuesday: "The Trinamool Congress has shattered into pieces. The Trinamool now faces a situation akin to that of Maharashtra; Ritabrata has arrived at the Assembly Speaker's office accompanied by nearly 50 TMC MLAs. The game is on." Addressing a rally in Kolkata on Tuesday, TMC leader and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP is trying to split the TMC. "A conspiracy has been hatched from Delhi to split the TMC. But we will not allow it to happen. We will fight." "Mamata Banerjee equals TMC. Everything else is a joke," said a senior TMC leader. Only nine sitting MPs and MLAs attended the demonstration, her first since losing the elections. But Ritabrata's comments suggest that this may not be easy. He told HT: "I believe I still belong to the Trinamool. Those who claim that they are running Trinamool, which means grassroot, have actually lost touch with the grassroot level. One person tried to corporatize the party. The people didn't accept it. People want a better version of TMC." Ritabrata was originally a CPI(M) MP in the Rajya Sabha who was expelled in 2017 for anti-party activities. He was sent to Rajya Sabha in 2024 by the TMC for just 15 months. The dissident leaders need at least 54 signatures, or two-thirds majority, to establish their group as the official TMC. "The merger of the original political of a member of the House shall be deemed to have taken place if, and only if, not less than two-thirds of the members of the legislature party concerned have agreed to such merger," the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution states. The battle within started quietly after the TMC recommended veteran MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition on May 6. But, after two of the party's MLAs, including Ritabrata, complained to him in writing on May 11 that some of the signatures on the documents submitted to the state assembly regarding the LoP's appointment were forged, Bose refused to accept the recommendation. CM Adhikari said on Monday that "two TMC MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, had given written complaint to the Speaker. The BJP has no role in this". The TMC announced expulsion of the two MLAs on June 1. On Tuesday, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee wrote a fresh letter to Bose, reiterating the party's decision to appoint Chattopadhyay as the LoP. However, the Speaker's office did not receive the letter, said a person aware of the matter. The developments are strongly reminiscent of 2022 when Eknath Shinde led a revolt within the Shiv Sena that led to the fall of the MVA government. He became the chief minister with the help of the BJP on June 30, 2022 and later, his faction was recognised by the Election Commission as the Shiv Sena. Former CM Uddhav Thackeray's faction became Sena (UBT). A year later, a similar split took place in Sharad Pawar's NCP, also in Maharashtra. The Trinamool, founded in 1998, has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 13 lawmakers in the Rajya Sabha. BJP leader and former Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee said, "The TMC party is finished. After the election results were declared on the 4th (of May), despite having 29 Lok Sabha MPs, numerous Rajya Sabha MPs, and 80 MLAs, there is absolutely no one to be seen. Mamata Banerjee is now moving around all alone... Everyone who has committed theft will be apprehended and brought to justice..." Indications of a split were visible when Mamata called a meeting of party MLAs on Sunday (May 31). Of the 80 legislators (Ritabrata and Saha had not been expelled at the time), only 20 showed up, forcing Mamata to cancel the meeting. According to some dissidents, they have problems with the leadership style of Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee. "After the TMC's defeat, Mamata called a meeting on May 6 and asked all MLAs to stand up and clap to congratulate Abhishek Banerjee. The first seed of dissidence was borne on that moment. " Mamata loyalist Kunal Ghosh struck a philosophical note: "If the BJP attempts to poach certain members of the Trinamool by dangling carrots before them, I see no fault in the BJP for doing so. They have organised "joining fairs" in the past as well; and we, too, have inducted people from their ranks. Today, they are in power. Before criticising them, I will look inward-at my own house. I will focus my attention on those who, having only recently secured victory, are now writhing in the throes of a belated awakening of conscience - suffocating and restless - simply because the party has stepped down from government." The TMC is synonymous with Mamata Banerjee, the three-term CM who formed her outfit after she left the Congress. While the dissidents may succeed in splitting the party, and be recognised in the assembly, analysts said public acceptance was an entirely different issue. Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Manindra Nath Thakur said: "If there is a large-scale defection in TMC, I don't' think the dissidents can benefit politically in the long run. Their impact would be limited in the assembly. Mamata Banerjee enjoys an autonomous space as the Opposition leader. But, this faction will be operating in a restricted space, which would be determined by the BJP."...