TMC Expels MLAs Sandipan Saha & Ritabrata Banerjee For 6 Years Over 'Anti-Party Activities' Amid Forged Signature Row

Kokata: In a political explosion inside West Bengal's legislative apparatus, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has expelled two MLAs, Sandipan Saha (Entally) and Ritabrata Banerjee (Uluberia Purba), for a period of six years.

The dramatic action from the party high command came just minutes after a bombshell press conference at Nabanna, the state secretariat, where it was revealed that both legislators had secretly approached the Assembly Speaker to expose a massive "forged signature" operation within the party's ranks.

The formal expulsion communications, signed by party vice-president Chandrima Bhattacharya, ordered the immediate termination of their primary memberships. 

The party cited a continuous failure to attend crucial organisational meetings and engage in activities "prejudicial to the interests of the AITC."

Profiles of the Expelled Leaders

1. Sandipan Saha: 

Newly elected MLA from the Entally Assembly constituency in Kolkata, the son of veteran politician Swarna Kamal Saha.

2. Ritabrata Banerjee: 

State President of the All India Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC) and former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha).

Multi-Layered Crisis 

A document submitted to the Assembly Secretariat nominating veteran leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition allegedly contained forged signatures of multiple elected MLAs.

Sandipan Saha and Ritabrata Banerjee went behind the party's back to submit formal, written complaints of signature forgery directly to the Assembly Speaker, triggering a high-stakes local police and West Bengal CID investigation.

The expulsions came less than 24 hours after a critical legislative party meeting at Kalighat had to be completely aborted because a staggering 61 out of 80 elected MLAs refused to show up.

The fast-moving crisis brings a boiling civil war out into the open following recent electoral setbacks. 

"Signature Row" 

The "signature row" exploded when inconsistencies emerged in a dated May 6 resolution letter,  endorsed by Chattopadhyay. 

Multiple newly elected lawmakers realised their names and signatures had been appended to the official document without their knowledge or physical presence.

While the ruling establishment tried to contain the internal friction, the dam broke when the two MLAs met with the Assembly Speaker to demand an official probe into their own party's documentation. 

The state's administrative head formally announced the move during an afternoon briefing, confirming that the secretariat had subsequently filed a criminal case over document falsification.

TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh took to social media shortly after the expulsion orders went live, slamming the two ousted lawmakers and calling the move a necessary response to immediate betrayal and rebellion less than a month after the assembly election cycle concluded.

By pulling the trigger on Saha and Banerjee, the leadership is attempting an iron-fisted display of authority to deter further internal dissent. 

However, with the West Bengal CID actively summoning top-tier leadership over the forgery allegations, and more than three-quarters of the party’s legislative wing openly boycotting official meetings, the expulsion of these two lawmakers may have permanently fractured the internal stability of the legislative party.