Kolkata, July 15 (IANS) Ending days of speculation, senior Trinamool Congress leader and Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra on Wednesday quit all posts in the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the party and joined the rival faction headed by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee.

Seated alongside Ritabrata Banerjee in the West Bengal Assembly, Madan Mitra announced his resignation from all posts of the original Trinamool Congress while launching a sharp attack on Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for the downfall of the party.

He said that this is the fate of the party because of Abhishek Banerjee, and the party was destroyed because of him.

“I was with the Trinamool, and I remain in the Trinamool. I have only moved from one house to another. The party does not belong to one individual; it belongs to everyone,” Mitra said, alleging that the party’s current condition was the result of the leadership of Abhishek Banerjee.

Despite switching camps, Mitra expressed gratitude towards Mamata Banerjee, saying she had stood by party workers for a long time. He also confirmed that he would attend the rival faction’s Martyrs’ Day programme in Kolkata on July 21.

Earlier in the day, Mitra drove himself to the Assembly before proceeding to the office of Ritabrata Banerjee. Speaking after formally joining the rebel camp, he said his political journey had reached a decisive moment and reiterated that he represented the people of Bengal above all else. He also stated that he had relinquished every organisational responsibility he held within the Mamata Banerjee-led faction.

He recited a two-line poem and said, “I am not just a Trinamool MLA, I am an MLA of Bengal. A member of the Legislative Assembly. I gave up everything for the Trinamool. All the positions I had, I gave up everything.”

The development comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Mitra’s wife and sons in connection with its money-laundering probe into the alleged municipal recruitment scam in West Bengal. Following the summons, Mitra met former Trinamool MLA Swarna Kamal Saha at the residence of rebel faction MLA Sandipan Saha in central Kolkata, fuelling speculation about a possible shift in allegiance.

Mitra’s move is another setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led faction following the party’s split after its Assembly election defeat. More than 60 MLAs had earlier joined the rival camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee, while only a handful remained with Mamata Banerjee.

Mitra, considered one of her trusted loyalists, had been entrusted with several key organisational responsibilities, including president of the Dumdum-Barrackpore organisational district, head of the party’s hawkers’ wing and chief convenor of its legislative party.

Several senior leaders who had earlier held important positions in the Mamata-led faction, including Firhad Hakim, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Jyoti Priya Mallick, have already crossed over to the rival camp. With Mitra’s defection, another prominent name has been added to that list.

–IANS

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