TMC MLA Madan Mitra joins rebel camp, quits TMC committees, chief whip post

Kolkata, Jul 15 (PTI) TMC MLA Madan Mitra, considered close to party supremo and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, joined the rebel camp led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, deepening the ongoing rift within the party. Mitra, the Kamarhati MLA, announced that he had resigned from all national and state committees functioning under the Mamata Banerjee-aligned TMC. The legislator also said he stepped down from the party's chief whip post with immediate effect. "I have only changed my room, not my house. I am very much in the TMC," the Kamarhati MLA told reporters after meeting the rebel leader. The development is the latest setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction, which has been grappling with an unprecedented rebellion over the past few months. The split widened after Ritabrata Banerjee and his supporters claimed to have taken control of the party headquarters and announced a parallel organisational set-up. PTI BSM BDC