‘We Have the Numbers’: Rebel Leader Ritabrata Banerjee Demands West Bengal Assembly Floor Test

Amidst escalating political turbulence and a widening rebellion within the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), expelled leader and officially recognized Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee on Tuesday challenged the government to a floor test in the West Bengal Assembly. Banerjee confidently asserted that his breakaway faction possesses the necessary strength to prove its majority on the House floor.

"My point is that there are 80 MLAs. Let there be a floor test. Let those who are making such claims prove their numbers. We have the numbers," Banerjee stated. Addressing reporters, Banerjee emphasized that a definitive legislative vote is the only way to silence the ongoing speculation and conflicting claims currently dominating the state's political landscape.

"I am saying this because people outside are making so many statements, and the media is also showing immense interest in these remarks. If the Speaker feels a floor test needs to happen, let there be a floor test. Once the floor test takes place, all this endless rhetoric and cross-talk will come to an end," he added.

Standing by the Public Mandate

When asked about reports indicating that TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had approached the Calcutta High Court to challenge her recent electoral loss in the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, Ritabrata Banerjee noted he lacked specific details and chose not to comment directly on the legal filing.

However, he spoke broadly about the election results, saying, "Regarding Mamata Banerjee's petition, I am not aware of it, so I cannot comment on that. But what I can say is that the people of Bengal have decisively defeated us. The mandate of the people of Bengal is against us, so not accepting that mandate means being in denial, which is not healthy for democracy."

Banerjee went on to claim that his faction now commands the loyalty of more than two-thirds of the MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly, adding that a parallel shift is rapidly occurring among the party's central lawmakers in New Delhi.

"As far as the Bengal Assembly is concerned, more than two-thirds of the MLAs are with us. In Parliament, more than two-thirds of the MPs have taken a collective decision, and resignations are currently happening in the Rajya Sabha. It is at 10 right now, but it will soon drop to single digits," he claimed.

The Trinamool Congress Crisis Deepens

These sharp remarks arrive at a time when the internal rift within the TMC appears deeper than ever. In the state legislature, a bloc of 58 Trinamool Congress MLAs has formally split away to establish a separate faction, where Speaker Rathindra Bose has already officially recognized Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition.

The crisis has simultaneously breached the national capital. In the Lok Sabha, a separate contingent of party MPs, spearheaded by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, has executed a merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). This group of parliamentarians has formally written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, requesting independent seating arrangements within the Lower House.