The battle for control of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) intensified after rival factions led by Mamata Banerjee and West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee approached the Election Commission
of India (ECI) with competing national working committee lists.
The move has formally opened a dispute over the party’s name, election symbol and organisational control, with both camps claiming to represent the ‘real’ Trinamool Congress.
Rebels seek recognition as official TMC
A day after removing Mamata Banerjee as the party chairperson and appointing a new national working committee, rebel MLAs approached election authorities seeking recognition as the official All India Trinamool Congress.
On Monday, the rebel faction held a special session at a hotel in New Town, Kolkata. Claiming the support of 65 of the party’s 80 legislators, the group voted by voice vote to remove Mamata Banerjee from the post of chairperson.
The legislators elected Howrah Central MLA Arup Roy as the new party chief. Roy served as a minister in the Trinamool Congress government from 2011 to 2026.
The rebels argued that a constitutional crisis had emerged under Article 20 of the party constitution because the three-year tenure of the national working committee formed in February 2022 had expired.
On Tuesday evening, rebel MLAs visited the office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer and submitted a letter seeking recognition as the official party and rights over the “jora ghash phool” or twin-flower election symbol.
Mamata camp submits rival list
In response, Mamata Banerjee submitted a separate list to the Election Commission, asserting that her faction remains the legitimate Trinamool Congress.
The list includes Mamata Banerjee as chairperson, Abhishek Banerjee as national general secretary and Lok Sabha leader, Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen as joint secretaries, Subhashish Chakraborty as treasurer and Sovondeb Chatterjee as leader in the Assembly.
The latest challenge comes at a difficult time for Banerjee, who is already dealing with a breakaway group of Lok Sabha MPs aligned with the NDA and the resignation of three Rajya Sabha MPs.
The rebels have also indicated they may seek control of the party symbol and the organisation’s assets.
Battle over symbol and finances
The dispute has widened beyond organisational control. According to the rebels, they enjoy the support of more than two-thirds of the party’s MLAs and several elected councillors across the state.
“We are the real Trinamool Congress. We have a Leader of the Opposition as per our choice, the choice of more than two-thirds in the Assembly. Obviously, we have a claim on the symbol,” a senior rebel MLA said.
The faction has also sought an audit of the party’s finances. Following a complaint by the rebels, TMC bank accounts containing Rs 440 crore have reportedly been frozen. However, Mamata Banerjee’s supporters remain confident about retaining both the symbol and access to party funds.
Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra questioned the rebels’ claim over the symbol, saying, “How can you put the cart before the horse? They don’t have the symbol. Let them first try and have the symbol and then form the national working committee or any other committee they want.” She also argued that under the party constitution, Mamata Banerjee remains chairperson for life.
On the freezing of bank accounts, Moitra questioned the process and said proper court permission had not been obtained.
Expulsions and legal challenges
The TMC has expelled several rebel leaders, including Arup Roy, MLAs Javed Khan, Firhad Hakim, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra and Sabina Yeasmin, as well as former ministers Aroop Biswas and Snehashis Chakraborty.
Despite the action, the rebels remain confident about their numerical strength.
Meanwhile, loyalists have indicated they will challenge the rebels before the Election Commission and move the courts if necessary. Chattopadhyay has already filed a case in the Calcutta High Court against the Assembly Speaker’s decision to recognise Ritabrata as Leader of the Opposition.
Lessons from Maharashtra
The unfolding dispute mirrors earlier political battles in Maharashtra involving the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
In both cases, rival factions fought before the Election Commission, the Assembly Speaker and the Supreme Court over party control, legitimacy and election symbols.
The Election Commission and the Speaker relied heavily on legislative strength while ruling in favour of factions led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. However, the Supreme Court later observed that a Speaker cannot rely solely on numerical strength while deciding disqualification proceedings and noted that a political party and a legislature party are distinct entities.
With legal battles in the Shiv Sena and NCP cases continuing for months and, in some instances, even beyond the tenure of legislators, the road ahead for the divided Trinamool Congress appears set to be long and complicated.
Election law deals primarily with party symbols, while disputes over assets generally have to be resolved through civil courts, a process that could take years if challenged further before the Supreme Court.
