Ritabrata Banerjee, serving as the Leader of the Opposition after being expelled from the Trinamool Congress, has the backing of at least 60 rebel legislators. File

| Photo Credit: ANI

“I have extended my support to rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee for the sake of the people of my constituency and their development,” says Mosaraf HossainPresident of the Trinamool Congress’s minority cell, Mosaraf Hossain, MLA from Itahar in Uttar Dinajpur district, resigned from the party and joined the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel group in the Assembly. Mr. Hossain told reporters at his residence in Jaihat Checkpost area on Sunday (June 21, 2026) that he submitted his resignation letter to Mamata Banerjee, citing family issues. “My mother is not well. I just returned from Mecca after celebrating Haj. I can’t even attend the Assembly sessions regularly due to her health condition. I need to be with her all the time. It is not possible for me to attend the Assembly session regularly. In such a situation at home, therefore, I have decided to resign,” said Mr. Hossain. Also Read | TMC(M) general secretary Yuvaraja resigns from partyHowever, he said he was in regular touch with Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee, who has been serving as the Leader of the Opposition after being expelled from the Trinamool Congress with the backing of at least 60 rebel legislators. “Since the government has changed, it has not been possible to work like I used to do earlier. I have extended my support to Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee for the sake of the people of my constituency and their development,” Mr. Hossain added. Lauds CMPraising Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Mr. Hossain said, “Our current Chief Minister had once served as an observer in Uttar Dinajpur during his stint with our party. I developed a wonderful relationship with him since then. My only target is the development of my area. I want to take part in all his development works in the future.”In the recent rejig in the party organisation on June 5 — two days after at least 59 Trinamool Congress MLAs floated a rebellion and backed expelled MLA Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee as the new Leader of the Opposition instead of Sobhandeb Chattopadhyaya in the West Bengal Assembly — Mr. Hossain was retained as the president of the minority cell. The 45-year-old leader was first fielded from Itahar by the Trinamool Congress in the 2021 Assembly election by dropping the sitting two-time MLA Amal Acharya. He also retained the seat in 2026. The development comes amid the ongoing Assembly session, which started on Friday. Since the BJP government came to power, several legislators of the Trinamool Congress, including 20 MPs, rebelled against the party, accusing the national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee of mishandling the party, where no voice of old leaders was heard.Earlier, three Rajya Sabha members, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Barik, also resigned from both their parliamentary posts and their organisational roles. Mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and a close aide of Ms. Mamata Banerjee, Firhad Hakim, Mayor of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, Krishna Chakraborty, Mayor of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation Gautam Deb also resigned. Days after being appointed as the adviser to the party’s national working committee, former Minister Jyotipriya Mallick has also resigned on Friday. Published - June 21, 2026 09:56 pm IST