The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday served notices to both rival factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after a delegation from the rebel camp, led by West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, appeared before the poll panel's full bench to stake its claim over the party's name, election symbol and bank accounts.
The rebel delegation, which arrived in Delhi on Wednesday night, comprised Banerjee, his deputy Sandipan Saha, Javed Ahmed Khan and senior legislator Arup Roy, who was elected national chairperson by the dissident faction after Mamata Banerjee was voted out of the post during a special session held on June 22. Lawyers representing the group had already submitted the resolutions adopted at that meeting to the ECI.
The faction has asserted that it enjoys the backing of more than 60 of the TMC's 80 MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly, besides claiming majority support among panchayat and municipal representatives.
Responding swiftly, the Mamata Banerjee-led camp questioned the ECI's decision to hear the rebel faction. Addressing a press conference in Delhi, TMC MPs Saugata Roy and Sagarika Ghose alleged that the Commission was acting at the direction of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in an attempt to weaken and co-opt the Opposition.
Leaders loyal to Mamata Banerjee contended that the ECI has no authority to intervene in internal organisational disputes or entertain claims made by individuals they described as "expelled" members. They also sought an explanation for why independent or rebel MLAs had been granted an audience before the Commission's full bench.
“The Commission has written to both Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee over the claims and counterclaims made by their respective factions regarding the organisational elections and authorised signatories of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). Both sides have been directed to submit their responses by 5:30 pm on Monday, July 6, 2026,” ECI officials said.
In a parallel development, the Kolkata High Court, while hearing a petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee faction challenging the freeze on debits from the party's bank accounts, directed HDFC Bank to disclose the total corpus held in those accounts.
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