New Delhi: The Crisis grappling the Trinamool Congress deepened on Sunday as dissident MPs met Union minister Bhupender Yadav at his house ahead of seeking recognition as the "real TMC" parliamentary group from the Lok Sabha speaker. The turmoil in the party has also been made worse with Mamata Banerjee confidant Sudip Bandyopadhyay throwing his weight behind the rebel camp.
Bandyopadhyay said he decided to stay with the dissident camp after an appeal from rebel MPs and MLAs, but added that he was yet to sign the letter to be submitted to Speaker Om Birla and would do so only in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
The rebel MPs are also likely to meet Adhikari in the evening.
Meanwhile, the MPs met Yadav in Delhi to finalise their strategy ahead of Monday's meeting with Birla.
The visit came a day after Bandyopadhyay, seen as one of Mamata Banerjee's closest aides, joined the rebel camp after meeting Shah and Yadav in Delhi.
"I had a meeting with Amit Shah," Bandyopadhyay told reporters on Sunday.
"Most of the MPs and MLAs wanted this to be a successful initiative. They wanted the party to continue under the guidance of Mamata Banerjee, with her playing a role similar to that of a chief advisor and party leader. Their appeal genuinely touched me. Therefore, I decided that I could continue to stay with them," he said.
Bandyopadhyay, however, said he had not yet signed the letter to be submitted to Birla.
"I will sign only in the presence of Suvendu Adhikari," he said.
Meanwhile, MPs Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy, who landed in Delhi ahead of the rebels' meeting with the speaker, refused to speak to the media at the airport.
Ghosh said, "I would answer the people of my constituency, not to you."
Another TMC MP, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, indicated that discussions were on within the party ranks.
"We will sit and talk today," she said when asked about the meeting at Yadav's residence.
The TMC has been grappling with a major rebellion among its legislators and parliamentarians following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
