Court shock to Mamata Banerjee, Ritabrata will be the new leader of opposition of Bengal Assembly

Kolkata: Amidst the ongoing turmoil in West Bengal politics, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership have received a big blow from the Calcutta High Court. In the legal dispute over the post of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, the High Court has clearly refused to put an interim stay on the decision of Assembly Speaker Rathin Basu. After this order of the court, rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee will continue to hold the post of leader of opposition in the Bengal Assembly.

No solid basis for interim stay

While hearing this case, the single bench of Justice Krishna Rao made it clear that no such concrete case or balance of convenience was seen in the arguments of the petitioner. On the basis of which the Speaker’s decision should be immediately stopped. The court, while refusing to grant an interim stay order, has directed all the parties to file their respective detailed affidavits before the next hearing. The next hearing of the case has now been fixed for July 28, 2026.

Demand to stop

This legal battle started when senior TMC MLA Shovandeb Chattopadhyay, very close to Mamata Banerjee, had filed a petition in the High Court challenging the Speaker’s decision to appoint Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the opposition and demanded an immediate ban on it.

The court raised sharp questions during the hearing

Even though the court did not stay the Speaker’s decision, during the hearing Justice Krishna Rao raised serious questions on the functioning of the Assembly Speaker. The court asked Additional Advocate General Bilvadal Bhattacharya, appearing on behalf of the Speaker, why no action was taken on the first letter sent by the TMC leadership on May 9 to make Shovandeb Chattopadhyay the leader of the opposition.

Ritabrata Banerjee declared leader of opposition

The court underlined that the official party’s application was put on hold, but on June 3, on the second letter received from the rebel group, Ritabrata Banerjee was immediately declared the leader of the opposition. The court asked what logical explanation does the Speaker have behind this discriminatory decision?

Historic rebellion in TMC after election defeat

After the crushing defeat of Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal Assembly elections, internal discord within the party reached its peak and the legislative party got divided into two factions. The party high command had nominated experienced leader Shovandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader. But, going against the party line, Ritabrata Banerjee secured the overwhelming support of 58 out of 80 MLAs, which is more than the two-thirds required to avoid the anti-defection law.

What did the MLAs allege?

Earlier, on June 1 itself, the TMC leadership had expelled Ritabrata on charges of ‘anti-party activities’. A new twist in this controversy came when some TMC MLAs alleged that their signatures were forged on the official document supporting Shovandeb. This entire matter is now under CID investigation, in which the role of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee is also being investigated.