Dissident CPI(M) leader Pratikur Rahaman, who resigned from the party on February 16, joined West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress on Saturday, prompting the Marxist organisation to expel him.

He defected to TMC in the presence of Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, against whom he had contested in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Rahaman told reporters at the Amtala office of Banerjee that he felt suffocated within the Marxist party.

“I only want to fight the onslaught of BJP’s fascism and believe that only the TMC has the ability to face the challenge of the Hindutva forces who want to divide people,” said Rahaman, who was a state committee member of CPI(M).

Welcoming Rahaman into the party fold, Banerjee said that Proikur wanted to join TMC to work for the poor and for the organisation, and there had been no deal between him and the Trinamool about nominating him in the state polls.

The dates for elections to the 294-member Assembly are expected to be announced next month.

Meanwhile, soon after Rahaman joined the Trinamool Congress, CPI(M)’s West Bengal state committee decided to expel him with immediate effect.

In a press statement, it said, “The action has been taken on charges of engaging in serious anti-party activities and joining the enemy camp.”

In the Amta office, Abhishek Banerjee said, “I have seen Protikur for a long time; he had even contested against me in 2024. But he is among those young Turks in the Marxist party who are dynamic, principled and have the will to fight against the real danger the country is facing. Our fight is against BJP.”

Wondering why the CPI(M)-led Left Front in Kerala is not fighting against Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Banerjee said only TMC led by Mamata Banerjee has been effectively opposing the “hasty implementation” of SIR and “able to take up the issue with the Supreme Court and force the Election Commission to follow its directives”. He also wondered how the CPI(M) struck an alliance with the Congress in West Bengal in 2021 when the two parties were opponents in Kerala.

“CPI(M) can only be seen on social media. May I ask which ideology allowed CPI(M) state secretary (Md Salim) to meet Humayun Kabir, while they proclaim they are not doing religion-based politics?” he said.

Banerjee was referring to suspended Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir, who had recently begun construction of a replica of the Babri Masjid in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.

“On what ideological ground do you call Lakshmir Bhandar, a financial support scheme, alms giving?” Banerjee asked.

Banerjee, considered number two in the TMC hierarchy, affirmed that he will provide opportunities to the young generation who are principled and hardworking.

He named young leaders such as Rwitobroto Mukherjee, who was earlier in the CPI(M), Sayaani Ghosh, now an MP, and Debangshu Bhattacharya who unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha poll in 2024.

“We call upon young people from different parties to come and join us to work for the poor and the people in general,” he said.

About CPI(M)’s criticism of Rahaman as a ‘betrayer’, Banerjee said those who want to work for the people do not need a rubber stamp.

There is no need for a certificate to be issued by any level of CPI(M) to prove that someone is a communist, he said.

Referring to the attacks on Mamata Banerjee by state CPI(M) leadership on ideological issues in the past, Abhishek Banerjee claimed that late author Mahasweta Devi, recipient of the Jnanpith Award and Padma Vibhushan, had once said in a public meeting that CM Mamata Banerjee was evolving with age.

Noting that Nobel laureate Amartya Sen once said that Mamata Banerjee is the fittest candidate to be the PM of India, the TMC MP said she does not need CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim’s stamp.

Later, the TMC in its official X handle announced that Rahaman joined the party.

“He (Rahaman) has been actively engaged in student politics, previously served as a member of CPI(M)’s West Bengal State Committee, and contested from Diamond Harbour in the 2024 Lok Sabha election,” it said.

The Trinamool Congress said that it is confident that, under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, he would contribute meaningfully to strengthening Bengal’s development journey.