"Misled": Rebel Trinamool MLA Kasem Siddiqui Rejoins Mamata Banerjee's Camp

Months after joining the rebel faction led by MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress MLA Kasem Siddiqui has returned to the camp led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Siddiqui, the MLA from Amdanga, said on Monday that he had been “misled” into joining the rebel group because he was given the impression that Mamata Banerjee would continue to lead them.

Speaking at a press conference with Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh, Siddiqui reaffirmed his allegiance to Mamata Banerjee. Explaining his decision to join the rebel faction, he said he had initially believed that Mamata was part of the group but later realised that she had no association with it. Siddiqui said voters had supported him because of Mamata Banerjee and recalled campaigning in Amdanga using her posters. He added that his loyalty would remain with her.

According to Siddiqui, the rebels held only one meeting with him and told him that Mamata Banerjee would remain their leader. He alleged that members were asked to sign a letter amid confusion and only later discovered that the group was operating separately from Mamata’s Trinamool Congress. Kunal Ghosh backed Siddiqui’s account, alleging that signatures had been obtained through confusion and misrepresentation and that the stated reason for collecting them did not match the actual situation.

Siddiqui, an MLA from Amdanga and a Pirzada of Furfura Sharif, is associated with the influential religious lineage of the shrine. He is a descendant of Abu Bakr Siddiqui, popularly known as the ‘Boro Pir’ of Furfura in Hooghly. His return comes as political developments continue around the rebel faction. On the same day, former Amdanga MLA Rafiqur Rahman met rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee had replaced Rahman with Siddiqui as the Trinamool candidate in the previous election. Siddiqui has been associated closely with Mamata Banerjee since 2024. In the 2026 Assembly elections, he defeated BJP candidate Arindam Dey to retain the Amdanga seat.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from NDTV.