Mamata Banerjee, who had contested from Kolkata’s Bhabanipur, lost the seat to her former aide and now Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, amid her party’s rout in the recently held state elections.
An expelled leader of the Trinamool Congress has offered Mamata Banerjee a way back to the assembly, in an ironic twist of circumstances. Humayun Kabir, who made headlines with his promise of building a replica of Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid in Bengal, had been expelled by the Trinamool Congress. Now Kabir — who before the election had called for overthrowing the Trinamool and won from two assembly seats — said he would offer one to Mamata Banerjee if she requests him.
Banerjee, who had contested from Kolkata’s Bhabanipur, lost the seat to her former aide and now Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, amid her party’s rout in the recently held state elections. Now she is no longer an MLA and will have to win a by-election to gain entry in the state assembly.
There is no word yet on who in the party would step aside for her.
Instead, Banerjee and her party have been facing a massive split in the party over the question of who will the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly. Fifty-eight of Trinamool’s 60 MLAs are backing Ritabrata Banerjee, an import from the CPM, who has now been expelled.
Humayun Kabir, who has formed his own party – Aam Janata Unnayan Party or AJUP — since expulsion, has stepped into the breach.
Kabir, who won the Nowda and Rejinagar assembly seats in Murshidabad district, said he was ready to offer the second seat to Mamata Banerjee, which will be up for a by-poll once he relinquishes it.
“If Mamata Banerjee comes to me, I can send her to the Assembly from Rejinagar,” Kabir was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
“If she contests from Nandigram, she will not win. But if she wants, I will resign and ensure her victory from my constituency,” he added.