TMC split widens: Are Saayoni Ghosh, Shatrughan Sinha joining rebel camp? Here's what we know

Internal strife within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) continues to make new revelations every day as its MPs and MLAs keep deserting supremo Mamata Banerjee and second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee after the party's rout in the Assembly Elections, which saw the BJP come to power for the first time in West Bengal with a thumping majority.

As many as 58-60 MLAs out of their 80 in the West Bengal Assembly have already announced that they have chosen Ritabrata Banerjee as their leader in the House, going against the decision made by Mamata-Abhishek, who had chosen party veteran Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP). The West Bengal Assembly Speaker has also granted this group the official status of the Opposition in the House and freed up the office of the LoP for Ritabrata.

After their MLAs abandoned ship, the TMC is facing a similar situation in New Delhi as well. Around 19 MPs (out of their 29) have decided to break away from the party and support the NDA. A meeting was held on Tuesday between 13 TMC MPs (led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar) and Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari in New Delhi.

On Monday, Ghosh Dastidar told PTI that she, along with 19 other TMC MPs, have decided to break away from the party and lend their support to the NDA.

Two more TMC Rajya Sabha MPs, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Sushmita Dev, resigned from their positions on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Saayoni switching camp?

Saayoni Ghosh, the TMC's MP from Jdavapur, is considered one of Mamata's fiercest backers. Ghosh had put out a long post accepting the mandate and voicing her continued support for her leader on 4 May, the day when the TMC lost power in the state after an uninterrupted 15-year rule.

However, as Mamata and Abhishek continue to be deserted by their loyalists, PTI reported on Wednesday that Ghosh has also ditched the aunt-nephew duo and added her name to the list of rebel MPs along with Kolkata South MP Mala Roy.

Besides Ray and Ghosh Dastidar, the other members of the TMC rebel camp are MPs Abu Taher, Asit Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Kalipada Soren, Jagadish Basunia, Prasun Banerjee, Sharmila Sarkar, Satabdi Roy, Yusuf Pathan, June Malia, Khalilur Rahaman, Bapi Halder, Rachana Banerjee, Mitali Bag, Dev Adhikari and Partha Bhowmick.

Bollywood star Shatrughan Sinha has not yet clarified his position in the matter. PTI said, citing sources within the TMC, that he is planning to stand by Mamata Banerjee. Even former cricketer Kirti Azad has decided to stand by Banerjee in her times of trouble.

Yusuf Pathan reportedly met Amit Shah in Delhi this week, prompting a public rebuke by Mahua Moitra on social media.

Will Mamata-Abhishek join Congress?

After a meeting between Mamata Banerjee and Sonia Gandhi, followed by Rahul Gandhi and Abhishek Banerjee getting into a huddle on Wednesday, some are speculating that Banerjee might merge the TMC unit under her with the Congress, the very party she broke away from in 1998 and formed the TMC. There has been no official comment in this regard from either side.

On the other hand, the leader of the rebel MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee, has said that his faction is not planning any merger with the Congress and that it itself is the real TMC.

"We are the real Trinamool Congress. We are not merging with the Congress," he said in Kolkata.