West Bengal Political Crisis Deepens as Firhad Hakim May Join Rebel Faction

The political crisis for Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal continues to deepen. Already 58 Trinamool Congress MLAs have formed a separate faction in the assembly under the leadership of Ritabrata Banerjee. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee may suffer another major setback. Firhad Hakim, a four-time MLA of the Trinamool Congress and a close associate of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, may also join the rebel faction. Three days after resigning from the post of mayor of the TMC-led Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Hakim met Ritabrata Banerjee in his assembly chamber on Monday, June 8. Deputy LoP Sandipan Saha and another rebel MLA also attended the meeting. This development is significant because the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has described itself as the "real Trinamool" in the assembly. If Hakim also leaves Mamata and takes the hands of the rebels, then the former West Bengal chief minister will face more problems. In the West Bengal assembly, 58 Trinamool Congress MLAs have only won. Speaker Rabindra Bose has accepted the letter of the rebel MLAs.