Kolkata: Less than a month after Trinamool Congress' crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, reports of a growing rebellion within the party have triggered speculation that party supremo Mamata Banerjee could face an unprecedented challenge from her own legislators.

The buzz comes amid an escalating political crisis within the TMC following the expulsion of newly elected MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha over allegations of discrepancies in signatures submitted for the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

Political circles in Bengal are abuzz with claims that a section of TMC legislators is unhappy with the party's top leadership, particularly national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, and may be exploring options to reorganise the opposition ranks in the Assembly.

Low turnout fuels rebellion buzz

The speculation gained momentum after a meeting called by Mamata Banerjee for all 80 newly elected TMC MLAs reportedly saw only around 20 legislators in attendance.

The low turnout was widely interpreted as a sign of growing discontent within the party.

Further fuelling the rumours, BJP minister Tapas Roy claimed that nearly 50 TMC MLAs had reached out to the Assembly Speaker alongside expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee.

While Ritabrata denied the claim, he stopped short of dismissing reports of dissatisfaction within the party.

The controversy centres around allegations that signatures of several legislators were improperly used in documents related to the appointment of the Opposition Leader.

Ritabrata and Sandipan had approached the Speaker over the issue, following which they were expelled from the party for alleged anti-party activities.

Despite the action against them, both legislators have continued to maintain that they acted in accordance with constitutional and ethical principles.

Ritabrata has repeatedly stated that his respect for Mamata Banerjee remains unchanged, even after his expulsion.

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee sought to dismiss suggestions of a split, insisting that the TMC cannot be broken.

Addressing a protest programme in Kolkata, she accused the BJP of attempting to destabilise the opposition and intimidate TMC leaders and workers.

However, questions over the party's unity intensified after only a handful of TMC MPs and MLAs attended the event, despite the party having a sizeable legislative presence in both Parliament and the Assembly.

Under anti-defection provisions, any group seeking to formally break away from the party would require the support of at least two-thirds of TMC legislators.

With the party currently having 78 MLAs after the expulsion of Ritabrata and Sandipan, at least 52 legislators would be needed to back any such move.

Political analysts caution that while visible signs of unrest have emerged within the TMC, there is no concrete evidence yet of a coordinated effort to remove Mamata Banerjee from the party's leadership.

Nevertheless, the rebellion narrative, public criticism of the leadership and the widening divide within the party have intensified scrutiny of the former ruling party's future.

For now, reports suggesting that Mamata Banerjee could be ousted by members of her own party remain unverified. \

However, the developments over the past week have exposed what many observers describe as the most serious internal crisis in the TMC's history.