In what signals trouble for Mamata Banerjee, expelled Trinamool Congress MLA Ritabrata Banerjee has reached the West Bengal Assembly with a letter, claiming that a significant number of the party’s MLAs back him.

Sources indicate that the rebel faction is courting as many as 59 MLAs – nearly three-fourth of the party’s 80 MLAs.

This comes less than a month after the Trinamool Congress suffered a crushing defeat in the Bengal polls, and the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP came to power in the eastern state.