Ballygunge MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, 82, previously served as Minister of State for Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs. File. Photo: X/@SobhandebChatt1.
The Trinamool Congress on Saturday (May 9, 2026) nominated senior party leader and Ballygunge MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition in the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
Mr Chattopadhyay, 82, previously served as Minister of State for Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs.
A press statement signed by Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee said the party will have two deputy leaders of opposition in the House – Dhanekhali MLA Asim Patra and Chowringhee. MLA Nayna Bandyopadhya.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor and Kolkata Port MLA Firhad Hakim has been nominated as Trinamool Chief Whip in the Assembly.
As party president Mamata Banerjee lost the parliamentary polls from Bhabanipur, she will not be present in the House. The responsibility of leading the 80 MLAs of the Trinamool Congress will fall to Mr. Chattopadhyay. During the day, the party president said, “We will continue to be a strong, vocal and uncompromising opposition in both Delhi and West Bengal.
A special session of the assembly is likely to be called soon where the newly elected MLA will take the oath. The BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member assembly.
Published – 10 May 2026 01:27 IST
