Rebel Trinamool MLA announces 'ghar wapsi' to Mamata Banerjee camp amid party rift

Kasem Siddiqui has returned to Mamata Banerjee's camp after leaving the rebel TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee. His move comes as the party's internal battle over Opposition leadership and a floor test continues.Rebel Trinamool Congress MLA Kasem Siddiqui returns to Mamata Banerjee camp (Photo: Facebook/Kasem Siddiqui)Rebel Trinamool Congress MLA Kasem Siddiqui has announced his return to the camp led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, months after joining the rebel faction headed by opposition leader Ritabrata Banerjee. Siddiqui, the TMC MLA from Amdanga in North 24 Parganas, said he had always remained with Mamata Banerjee and would continue to remain under her leadership.Explaining his decision to leave the rebel camp, he said he had been given to understand that the faction would function under Banerjee's leadership, but later realised that there was no mention of the TMC supremo in its 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."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 added.Siddiqui, who is known as 'Pirzada' and hails from the influential Furfura Sharif shrine in Hooghly district, has considerable influence among sections of the Muslim community. He joined the TMC last year and was subsequently appointed a general secretary of the party. The party fielded him from Amdanga, where he won the Assembly election. His return comes amid a larger political tussle within the TMC over the leadership of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. The rebel faction has challenged the Speaker's decision on the issue and has been demanding a floor test.TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh said the Speaker's decision was provisional and maintained that the rules required the "mother party" to inform the Speaker about its authorised representative. "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.Ghosh said the TMC was ready to accept the challenge of a floor test, but insisted that it should be conducted through a secret ballot. He also accused the rebel faction of trying to break the TMC with alleged backing from the state government."They keep talking about a floor test. We accept the challenge, but it should be through a secret ballot," Ghosh said, adding that the election should be held through secret voting.- EndsPublished By: Priyanka KumariPublished On: Aug 24, 2026 17:49 IST