Mamata questions Election Commission meeting with expelled TMC leaders.
Rebel TMC faction claimed original party status before Kolkata election office and the Election Commission.
- Rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee met the Election Commission claiming to be the AITC.
- Banerjee says more than two‑thirds of TMC MLAs, corporators and local leaders back the rebellion.
- He frames the split as opposition to dynastic politics and an “individual cult.”
- TMC leaders Saugata Roy and Sagarika Ghose accuse the EC of granting an improper meeting and allege BJP influence.
- EC asked both sides to submit claims and counter‑claims by 5.30 pm on July 6.
- EC seeks clarity on authorised signatories, organisational polls, and control of party name and twin‑flower symbol.
- Rebel faction previously filed documents with the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata and separately with the EC.
- Outcome will decide control over party machine, symbol and future of opposition politics in West Bengal.
The battle for control of the Trinamool Congress turned public and combustible on Thursday as a rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee pressed its claim before the Election Commission, while the party’s loyalists accused the poll panel of breaking its own rules by granting the dissidents an audience. For ordinary voters in West Bengal, the dispute has begun to feel less like internal party manoeuvring and more like a contest over what the party stands for.
Ritabrata Banerjee’s delegation met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two election commissioners after the faction said it had held a special organisational session in Kolkata on June 22 and formally notified the EC. Emerging from the meeting, Banerjee thanked the commission for a “patient hearing,” saying his group had submitted documents to prove that it is now the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). “More than two‑thirds of the MLAs are with us,” he told reporters, adding that corporators, municipal councillors and Zila Parishad members also support the rebellion.
Banerjee framed the uprising as an ideological corrective. He accused the party’s current leadership of cultivating an “individual cult” and practising dynastic politics that had hollowed the grassroots movement. “All people who believe in the same ideas have formed a collective. People of Bengal do not support dynastic politics,” he said, insisting his faction was not aligning with the BJP and that senior figures such as Arup Roy and Javed Khan were founder‑members lending legitimacy to his claims.
But the official TMC line was one of outrage. Senior leaders Saugata Roy and Sagarika Ghose argued that only authorised signatories of a recognised party can book meetings with the EC and said the AITC had not requested any such appointment. Ghose pointed to the Supreme Court’s Shiv Sena judgement to underline a legal distinction between a political party and its legislature wing, arguing the legislature party cannot simply merge or split. Both accused the poll body of unprecedented and unconstitutional action; Roy even alleged the meeting was arranged “at the behest of Amit Shah,” hinting at BJP influence on the commission.
The rhetoric turned sharp and personal. TMC MP Mahua Moitra dismissed the rebels as “fake,” suggesting they must shout to prove their authenticity. Banerjee responded with equal heat, calling the comment evidence of the “arrogance” that, he said, had eroded the party’s bond with voters. “This sort of mindset is not healthy for democracy,” he told reporters, describing the current leadership as stuck in denial.
Procedurally, the EC has moved cautiously. It asked both sides to submit claims and counter‑claims over authorised signatories and organisational polls, and sent letters to Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee asking for written responses by 5.30 pm on July 6. The commission also sought clarity on who legitimately represents the party’s name, twin‑flower symbol and organisational structure — the crucial elements that determine who controls the formal party apparatus.
The dispute has roots in the TMC’s recent electoral losses and internal fractures following its ouster by the BJP in West Bengal. Last week the rebel faction filed paperwork with the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata and separately notified the EC claiming majority support among MLAs and party functionaries.
For voters and local officials, the immediate concern is stability: which grouping can legitimately claim the party machine, its funds, its election symbol and — crucially — the loyalty of state and local representatives. The EC’s forthcoming decision on documents, authorised signatories and the legitimacy of organisational polls will shape not only who controls the TMC’s name and symbol, but the future of opposition politics in the state.