Ghosh also questioned whether Mamata maintained effective control over him.
“Does Didi really have power in her hands anymore? Power has been concentrated elsewhere and incompetent people have been given crucial responsibilities. Even if Mamata Banerjee wanted to, she could not do much,” he asserted.
Asked if the party’s split and electoral loss was a result of Abhishek Banerjee’s leadership, Ghosh said: “He lacks political experience. He did not emerge through any political movement. And what was I-PAC? They are a bunch of youngsters telling us what to do.”
“We came through political struggles and years of hard work. There was no I-PAC in 2011 or 2016. Suddenly they became indispensable. In the end, they destroyed the party and left,” Ghosh said.
On why he chose to switch camps instead of taking his concerns directly to Mamata Banerjee, Ghosh maintained that there is only one Trinamool Congress and no factions.
“We have to be where the majority is. MLAs and leaders from North Bengal are all gathered in one place. I have taken this decision to stand by the party workers,” he said.
“Unfit people were given the responsibility. They have been accused of corruption. Now, they are in hiding. Ordinary party workers are facing repression. We must stand by them,” Ghosh said.
Reacting to the development, BJP leader and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said it did not matter which camp of the TMC is benefiting from its internal rebellion.
“TMC is divided into two boats, both are sinking. It is the personal choice of their leaders which sinking boat they want to board. But there is no doubt that the boats will sink and drown with them,” he asserted.
On Saturday, dissidents led by Ritabrata announced their nominations after a two-day meeting of the faction’s working committee in Kolkata, even as their claim over the CPM’s party symbol, name and funds remains pending before the Election Commission.
The exercise marked the second major step in the faction’s strategy after last month’s special session where it removed Mamata Banerjee as party president, elected top MLA Arup Roy, set up a parallel working committee and approached the EC seeking recognition as the “real” Trinamool Congress.
Former Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mondal, long considered one of Mamata Banerjee’s most trusted political lieutenants, was named president of the rebel faction’s Birbhum unit, making his crossing one of the most symbolically significant since the split in the party widened after the assembly elections.
The rebel faction unveiled its first nationwide organizing team, uniting leaders from rival TMC camps under one banner.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen became the chief spokesperson, while several former ministers and MLAs were given district responsibilities and appointed office bearers, completing what leaders described as the first phase of its nationwide expansion.
(With data from PTI)
