Kolkata: Expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee and a group of dissident legislators met West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose Wednesday and submitted letters of support from 58 MLAs, sources said.
The dissident camp also proposed a new leadership structure for the legislature party, with Banerjee as the leader and Akhruzzaman as the chief whip, according to sources.
Several rebel legislators, including Chandranath Sinha and Shiuli Saha, accompanied Banerjee and Sandeepan Saha to the Speaker’s chamber in the Assembly, where the documents were submitted.
Sources said the support letters bear the signatures of 58 legislators, including Madhyamgram MLA Rathin Ghosh, who signed in favour of Banerjee before leaving the Assembly premises.
In a significant political signal, the dissident lawmakers have described TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee as their “chairperson” in the communication submitted to the Speaker, indicating that their revolt is aimed at the existing leadership structure of the legislature party rather than the party chief herself.
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