Rebel Trinamool Congress MLA Kasem Siddiqui has returned to the faction led by former West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, months after joining the faction headed by opposition leader Ritabrata Banerjee. Siddiqui, the MLA from Amdanga in North 24 Parganas, said he had never intended to distance himself from Mamata Banerjee and would continue to remain under her leadership.
Explaining his decision, Siddiqui said members of the rebel faction had initially been told that it would operate under Mamata Banerjee's leadership. He said he later found that there was no reference to the TMC chief in the faction's functioning. "We were told to sign (the document) and that the signature would reach Didi. We are with Didi and will remain with her. We had said that we would remain together," Siddiqui said.
He also stressed that his political association with Mamata Banerjee was central to his electoral mandate. "When we went there, there was no mention of Didi. She is everything for us. We know Didi. She gave us the ticket and sent us to the Assembly. We sought votes with her picture and people voted for us seeing her. We are with Didi and will remain with her as long as we are here," he said.
Kasem Siddiqui joined the TMC last year and was later appointed the party's general secretary. The party subsequently fielded him from Amdanga, where he won the Assembly election. His return comes as the TMC remains embroiled in an internal political dispute over the leadership of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. The rebel faction has challenged the Speaker's decision on the matter and has called for a floor test.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh defended the Speaker's position, saying the decision was provisional and that the party's authorised representative had to be communicated to the Speaker by the "mother party". "Whatever is provisional is not permanent. They are demanding a floor test, but the rules do not say that. The authority lies with the mother party, which will inform the Speaker who will represent the party," Ghosh said. Kunal Ghosh said the TMC was prepared to face a floor test but insisted that it should be conducted through a secret ballot. "They keep talking about a floor test. We accept the challenge, but it should be through a secret ballot," he said. He also alleged that the rebel faction was attempting to split the TMC with backing from the state government.
