Cooch Behar | Veteran TMC leader and former North Bengal Development Minister Rabindranath Ghosh on Sunday claimed that most dissident leaders who joined the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction would return to Mamata Banerjee if she succeeded in sidelining her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, from active politics.

Ghosh emerged as the latest entrant to the rebel Trinamool Congress faction led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee and sever ties with the Mamata Banerjee-led camp, marking a significant political shift in Cooch Behar and further deepening the embattled party’s rift.

The development comes less than 24 hours of the rebel camp stepping up its bid for control of the party and unveiling its parallel state and district committees, drawing several of Mamata Banerjee's longtime loyalists – including former Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mondal – into its fold in a decisive shift from political rebellion to institution-building.

Ghosh, who is likely to be named the party’s Cooch Behar district president by the rebels, expressed strong criticism of Abhishek Banerjee and political consultancy firm I-PAC, stating that the TMC’s setback in the assembly polls was largely the result of their influence.

“From what I have figured after speaking to many party leaders is that Mamata Banerjee needs to remove Abhishek from the domain of active politics, at least for the time being. I believe that would make the dissident leaders and workers return to her.

“There’s no denying that Abhishek’s whims and fancies… over 80 sitting MLAs and ministers were denied poll tickets and many others removed from their organisationsal positions, had a severe impact on the party,” Ghosh told reporters.

A former TMC district president for over two decades and a long-time associate of Mamata Banerjee, Ghosh questioned whether the party supremo retained effective control over it.

“Does Didi really have power in her hands anymore? Power has become concentrated elsewhere and incompetent people were given crucial responsibilities. Even if Mamata Banerjee wanted to, she could not do many things,” he claimed.

Asked whether the party's split and electoral defeat were the result of Abhishek Banerjee's leadership, Ghosh said, “He lacks political experience. He did not emerge through any political movement. And what was I-PAC? It’s a bunch of youngsters telling us what to do.”

“We came up through political struggles and years of hard work. There was no I-PAC in 2011 or 2016. Suddenly they became indispensable. In the end, they destroyed the party and walked away,” Ghosh said.

On why he chose to switch camps instead of conveying his concerns directly to Mamata Banerjee, Ghosh maintained that there is only one Trinamool Congress and no factions.

“We have to be where the majority is. MLAs and leaders from North Bengal have all come together in one place. I have taken this decision to stand by the party workers,” he said.

“Unfit people were given responsibility. They have been accused of corruption. Now, they have gone into hiding. Ordinary party workers are facing repression. We have to stand by them,” Ghosh said.

Responding to the development, BJP leader and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said it didn't matter which camp of the TMC is benefiting from its internal rebellion.

"The TMC is divided into two boats, both of which are sinking. It is their leaders' personal choice as to which sinking boat they want to board. But, there is no doubt that the boats will sink and they will drown with those," he asserted.

On Saturday, the Ritabrata-led dissidents announced its appointments after the faction's two-day working committee meeting in Kolkata, even as their claim over the TMC’s symbol, name and party funds remains pending before the Election Commission.

The exercise marked the second major step in the faction's strategy after last month's special session, where it removed Mamata Banerjee as party chairperson, elected senior MLA Arup Roy to the post, constituted a parallel working committee and approached the EC seeking recognition as the "real" Trinamool Congress.

Former Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mondal, long regarded as one of Mamata Banerjee's most trusted political lieutenants, was appointed president of the rebel faction's Birbhum unit, making his crossover one of the most symbolically significant since the split in the party widened after the assembly election.

The rebel faction unveiled its first statewide organisational team, bringing together leaders from rival TMC camps under one banner.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen was made principal spokesperson, while several former ministers and MLAs were given district responsibilities and named office bearers, completing what leaders described as the first phase of its statewide expansion.