Mamata Banerjee Fights Hawker Evictions Amid TMC Party Split

Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee led an unscheduled protest march in Kolkata's Dharmatala area on Wednesday to oppose the eviction of hawkers. The demonstration followed an anti-encroachment drive by the BJP-led government and the Railways, which included the demolition of stalls at Jadavpur Station. While Banerjee termed the evictions inhumane, the BJP dismissed the march as a bid for media attention, and Left party leaders accused her of attempting to hijack their existing movement.

The protests coincided with a severe internal crisis within the TMC. On Thursday, during the opening of the BJP government's first budget session, rival factions of the party occupied separate sections of the opposition benches. Speaker Rathindra Bose recognized Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition after 58 MLAs backed him, despite Banerjee's nomination of Sovandeb Chattopadhyay for the role. The Mamata-loyalist camp has challenged this decision in the Calcutta High Court.

Legislative arrangements now include separate seating and rooms for the two blocs. The majority rebel group consists of approximately 60 to 64 legislators, while a minority bloc remains loyal to Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee. Kunal Ghosh, representing the minority bloc, stated that the state government has guaranteed them separate time allotments to speak in the House. This rupture extends to Parliament, where 20 dissident TMC MPs have sought to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.