The power struggle within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) intensified on Tuesday as the factions led by Mamata Banerjee and rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee submitted rival national working committee lists to the Election Commission of India (ECI), each claiming to be the legitimate leadership of the party.
The competing submissions formally set the stage for a legal battle over theparty's name,election symbol, finances and organisational control.
A day earlier, the rebel camp convened a meeting at a hotel in New Town, Kolkata, claiming the support of 65 of the party's 80 MLAs. During the session, legislators voted to remove Mamata Banerjee as party chairperson and elected senior leader Arup Roy to the post.
The dissident group argued that the tenure of the national working committee constituted in February 2022 had expired, creating what it described as a constitutional vacuum within the party.
On Tuesday evening, rebel legislators approached the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer, seeking recognition as the official All India Trinamool Congress and claiming rights over the party's twin-flower election symbol.
"We have the support of the majority of TMC legislators," Ritabrata Banerjee told reporters after meeting election authorities.
Mamata Banerjee's faction, in response, submitted a revised national working committee list to the ECI late Monday night.
The list retained Mamata Banerjee as party chairperson and Abhishek Banerjee as national general secretary. It also named Subrata Bakshi as vice-president, Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen as joint secretaries and former MP Subhasish Chakraborty as treasurer.
Notably, senior leader Aroop Biswas was dropped from the revised panel after joining the rebel camp.
Sources in the Mamata camp reportedly described the submission as the "original" committee structure, despite acknowledging that the faction currently lacks majority support within the legislative wing.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
