Mamata Banerjee loyalists, sensing a lack of cohesion in the Ritbrata Banerjee-led rebel bloc in Monday's Assembly proceedings, have claimed a major mutiny is brewing in the breakaway faction that calls itself the "ashol (real)" Trinamool Congress.
The rebel camp, however, insists it holds the keys to the Trinamool kingdom.
Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh, a Mamata loyalist, asserted on Tuesday that several lawmakers loyal to Ritabrata are ready to desert the bloc. He said the defiance follows a somewhat chaotic Assembly session for the bloc on Monday, where internal fractures appeared during voting on bills.
"Many were lured away with the assurance that switching sides would shield them from police harassment," Ghosh said. "But those with real Trinamool blood find it impossible to accept this. They no longer accept Ritabrata as a leader. You will see the real reflection of this in a few days."
On Monday, the House witnessed two division votes on the bills after Opposition MLAs demanded voting by division, prompting Speaker Rathindra Bose to conduct formal voting.
The OBC reservations bill passed with 186 votes in favour, 17 against and six abstentions. The control of goonda bill was passed with 176 votes in favour, 41 against and 20 abstentions. The voting pattern of the Opposition MLAs suggested they are not united.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari mocked Trinamool on this in the House, saying the party had become fragmented even inside the Assembly.
"You could not even put up a robust, united Opposition. Some are breaking away, while others are pulling at each other's shirts. Some are claiming, 'I am Trinamool!'" Suvendu said.
The rebel high command, however, tore into Ghosh’s thesis, framing the Kalighat loyalists as a dying breed clinging to a sinking ship.
Opposition chief whip Akhruzzaman, a critical strategist in the Ritabrata-led rebel bloc, claimed that the rebels are actively managing the gatekeeping. He warned that if the "ashol" Trinamool fully opens its doors, its strength on the opposition benches would instantly surge from 64 to 77 MLAs. "It's only because we have not, that they (the Mamata camp) still have some (MLAs) left," Akhruzzaman said.
Ritabrata dismissed the Mamata loyalists, calling their assertions mere psychological warfare from a defeated camp.
"Those saying these things are suffering from a sour-grapes complex," the leader of the Opposition said. He hinted at a deeper, covert realignment underway beneath the nose of the old guard. "If they try hard enough to find out, they will know what outreach exercises are being conducted by those who are still going to Kalighat."
Ghosh, nonetheless, cited the floor data from Monday’s votes on bills as concrete proof of collapse within the rebel ranks.
"That proves that a significant section is no longer following Ritabrata’s instructions," he argued. "When I launched a blistering rhetorical assault against (Ritabrata) on the floor, it was surprising that not a single MLA from his camp stood up in support. Nobody sat next to him, and no one shouted to defend him. I thoroughly enjoyed watching that scene."
"They are taking refuge there (in the bloc) to save their illegal property and their skin," he added.