TMC tries to hold MP flock together amid buzz of split

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress chief and former Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee travelled to Delhi on Sunday, a day before the INDIA bloc meeting, as the party scrambled to prevent the rebellion that shattered its legislature wing in the Bengal assembly from spreading to Parliament. Party national general secretary and its Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee had already reached the capital on Saturday.Trinamool's strategy is to avoid expelling rebel MPs, forcing them instead to cobble together the two-thirds support — 19 of 28 Lok Sabha members — needed to split the parliamentary party without attracting anti-defection provisions.The calculation is also political: a split ahead of the delimitation bill, expected in the July monsoon session, could hand the BJP an advantage.The rebel group is likely to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking permission to remove Abhishek as their parliamentary leader and sit separately from the Trinamool camp.Hectic parleys are expected during Mamata's Delhi stay to prevent further defections, with indications that rebel MPs may move within days. Mamata was accompanied by Rajya Sabha member Dola Sen and Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee.The crisis follows one of the biggest setbacks in Trinamool Congress's history since its formation in 1998 — 58 of its 80 Bengal MLAs broke away last week, securing recognition as the principal opposition bloc under expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee. Trinamool is set to challenge Ritabrata's appointment as Leader of the Opposition in the Calcutta High Court on Monday.Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, speaking at Kolkata airport before leaving for Delhi, offered a characteristically dramatic assessment: "When a collapse begins, it is total and consuming. A bridge must be built before you even feel the breach."Senior party sources, however, played down his remarks, noting Ray had made similar outbursts before — including on the RG Kar issue — only to subsequently reaffirm his loyalty to Mamata Banerjee."He will remain within the party and vote as per the party whip," a senior Trinamool MP said. Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the first to publicly break ranks against the leadership, declined to comment.Trinamool also has 13 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. Following the death of Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam, the party's Lok Sabha strength stands at 28.(With PTI inputs)