The Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, and a rebel bloc, headed by West Bengal leader of the opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, have filed competing national working committee lists with the Election Commission of India (ECI), claiming legal control of the party. The move has initiated a formal dispute over the partyโs name, assets and election symbol.
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The development follows a session held by the rebel faction at a hotel in New Town, Kolkata, where they claimed the support of 65 of the partyโs 80 legislators. During the meeting, the legislators voted via a voice vote to remove party founder Mamata Banerjee from the post of party chairperson, electing Howrah Central legislator Arup Roy in her stead. Roy had previously served as a minister in the Trinamool Congress government between 2011 and 2026. The rebels cited a constitutional crisis under Article 20 of the party constitution, arguing that the three-year tenure of the previous national working committee, formed in February 2022, had expired.
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The groupโs MLAs subsequently visited the West Bengal chief electoral officer to submit a letter demanding recognition as the official All India Trinamool Congress, alongside rights to the twin-flower election symbol. Speaking outside the office, Ritabrata Banerjee remarked that whilst he could not comment on the specific letter submitted to the EC, observers would note that members consistently resign and leave whenever the rival group forms a new committee. He expressed confidence that the majority of the TMC MLAs were backing his faction.
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To counter the rebellion, Mamata Banerjeeโs camp sent a revised list to the ECI, marked “as on June 20, 2026,” retaining her as chairperson and Abhishek Banerjee as national general secretary. A Trinamool Congress member of parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the document names Subrata Bakshi as vice-president, Derek OโBrien and Dola Sen as joint secretaries, and former MP Subhasish Chakraborty as treasurer. Notably, Aroop Biswas was dropped from this revised list. The Mamata Banerjee camp described its submission as the “original but minority” list, thereby acknowledging its numerical weakness within the legislative wing.
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Leaders and legislators began deserting to the rebels after the party lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly polls. An initial committee formed by Mamata Banerjee earlier this month collapsed after former ministers Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas defected to the rebel faction.
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The rebel factionโs submission to the EC names an expanded national working committee, growing from 10 to 30 members, and lists Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin as vice-chairpersons. Ritabrata Banerjee also named himself, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha as general secretaries, with Akhruzzaman Ansari taking the role of treasurer. When questioned about the Diamond Harbour MP, Abhishek Banerjee, Ritabrata asked “Who is Abhishek Banerjee?” but added that Mamata Banerjee was welcome to serve as his groupโs “chief advisor”.
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Financial control of the party has also become a battleground. Former treasurer Aroop Biswas wrote to HDFC Bank requesting a freeze on primary accounts holding โน676 crore, citing uncertainty over authorised signatories. The bank initially declined to act because the Mamata Banerjee faction had informed it that Biswas had been removed and replaced by Subhasish Chakraborty at a meeting on 5 June. However, following police action on several complaints filed by the rebel faction, the bank blocked withdrawals and spending by both sides. Whilst donations can still be received, the funds remain locked pending an ECI verdict. Civil litigation will eventually be required to distribute physical assets after the ECI rules on the name and symbol.
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Senior ECI officials have indicated that the commission will adjudicate rival claims under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. They will use the two-wing test from the Sadiq Ali vs ECI (1971) precedent to examine strength in both the organisational and legislative wings. The rebel faction currently holds 81 per cent of Trinamool Congress legislators and 71 pc of its Lok Sabha members. This follows a declaration in Delhi by 20 Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha members that they had joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and would support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), attributing the crisis to Abhishek Banerjeeโs style of working.
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Under ECI rules, the winning faction inherits the party name, the twin-flower symbol, the registered voter base and official recognition. The losing faction must register as a new party under a temporary free symbol. Alternatively, the ECI could freeze the symbol entirely as an interim measure, following precedents set during the Shiv Sena split in October 2022 and the Nationalist Congress Party split in 2023.
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Rebel legislators, including Ritabrata Banerjee, Hakim, Sabina Yasmin and Saha, participated in the assembly budget session debate on the governorโs speech. The Mamata Banerjee camp informed assembly speaker Rathindra Nath Bose that Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra should replace Hakim as chief whip, given that Hakim was nominated before joining the rebels. Speaker Bose rejected the appeal, stating the matter was sub-judice.
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The speaker had already recognised 58 rebel legislators as the principal opposition party in the House. Ritabrata Banerjee and Saha, who were expelled by the party on June 1, were recognised as leader and deputy leader of the opposition respectively. These developments occurred 29 days after the BJP won 207 assembly seats against the Trinamool Congressโs 80. The June 1 expulsions occurred minutes after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stated that a written complaint by the duo had triggered a Crime Investigation Department (CID) probe into the forgery of signatures on a May 19 resolution nominating Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as leader of the opposition.
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Kolkataโs Alipore court has since stayed the expulsions, whilst the Calcutta High Court refused the Trinamool Congressโs request for an interim stay on Ritabrata Banerjeeโs recognition as leader of the opposition. Both cases remain pending, with the next high court hearing scheduled for July 28. Meanwhile, Ritabrata Banerjee has stated plans to establish distinct district committees, a state unit and a new panel of spokespersons.
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Also read: TMC’s new office-bearers list to EC reaffirms Mamata as chief
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