Former Bengal minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, key Mamata Banerjee loyalist, quits all TMC posts

Former West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, who was a key loyalist of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, on Saturday resigned from all party posts, The Hindu reported.

Soon after resigning, Bhattacharya went to the state Assembly and joined a meeting with rebel Trinamool Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, indicating that she may switch to their camp.

Bhattacharya claimed that she was not consulted in important decisions, including the preparation of the state Budget, when the Trinamool Congress was in power, according to The Hindu.

The TMC has been beset by internal divisions and rebellions after it lost the Assembly elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party in May. On June 3, nearly 60 out of the TMC’s 80 MLAs rebelled against the party leadership to choose Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the Opposition in the House.

On June 14, a delegation of 20 TMC MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and requested that their group be merged with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens’ Party, which is a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.

Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, on his part, wrote to Birla on June 19 demanding that the rebel MPs should be disqualified on the grounds of leaving the party.

Commenting on Bhattacharya’s resignation on Saturday, Mamata Banerjee called...

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