Election Commission asks rival TMC factions to submit claims by 6 July

The leadership battle within the Trinamool Congress intensified on Thursday after the Election Commission sought submissions from both the Mamata Banerjee-led camp and a rebel faction headed by Ritabrata Banerjee, which has staked claim to the party's organisation, leadership and election symbol.

In separate communications to the two camps, the poll panel asked them to submit their claims and counterclaims relating to authorised signatories and the party's organisational elections by 5.30 pm on 6 July.

The move came after a delegation led by Ritabrata Banerjee met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners in New Delhi. Following the meeting, Banerjee said the delegation had presented its case before the full bench of the Commission and expressed confidence that a decision would be taken after considering the submissions.

He said the faction had informed the commission after convening a special organisational session in Kolkata on 22 June and had subsequently sought an appointment with the poll panel. While declining to disclose the documents submitted, Banerjee maintained that the meeting had been conducted in accordance with the party's rules.

Reiterating the faction's claim over the Trinamool Congress, Banerjee asserted that it enjoyed the support of more than two-thirds of the party's MLAs, along with a majority of corporators, municipal councillors and Zila Parishad members.

Describing the rebellion as an ideological movement, he said the group's opposition was directed against what he called personality-driven politics and dynastic control within the party. He also rejected suggestions that the faction was aligning with the BJP, saying it remained opposed to the ruling party at the Centre.

The meeting with the Election Commission, however, drew sharp criticism from the Trinamool Congress leadership.

Senior leaders Saugata Roy and Sagarika Ghose questioned how the Commission had granted an audience to a leader who had been expelled from the party. They argued that under the commission's own procedures, only authorised signatories of a recognised political party are entitled to seek such meetings.

Roy alleged that the meeting had been facilitated under political pressure from the BJP, while Ghose described the Commission's decision as unprecedented and contrary to its own rules. Referring to the Supreme Court's judgment in the Shiv Sena split case, she argued that a legislature party could neither split nor merge independently of the political party.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra also dismissed the rebel faction's claim, remarking that only those lacking legitimacy needed to prove they were genuine.

Responding to the criticism, Ritabrata Banerjee accused the party leadership of remaining in denial over its political decline and said such an approach was detrimental to democracy.

The dispute within the Trinamool Congress has escalated since the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Last week, the rebel faction submitted documents to the chief electoral officer in Kolkata and separately approached the Election Commission, claiming to represent the original All India Trinamool Congress and seeking recognition over the party's name, twin-flower symbol and organisational structure.

With PTI inputs