TMC feud reaches doorsteps of EC; poll body yet to decide on calling two factions

New Delhi, July 1: The rebellion in the Trinamool Congress has reached the doorstep of the Election Commission, with both the factions asserting their claim over the party name.
Days after the Trinamool Congress sent a fresh list of its office bearers and national working committee members to the poll body, the rebel MLAs are set to meet the Election Commission (EC) top brass here on Thursday to demand that their faction be recognised as the “real” TMC.
Seeking to pre-empt any such move, the TMC has asserted before the EC that Mamata Banerjee still heads the party and has a functional organisation.
The EC, however, has not yet decided to call the two factions.
“No decision has been taken. No communication has been sent to the two groups,” an EC functionary said.
The TMC’s submission to the EC came after a rebel faction held a special session in Kolkata and announced a parallel organisational structure with the election of senior MLA Arup Roy as party chairperson, directly challenging the authority of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
The rebel faction led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee claimed the move was necessitated by what it described as a “constitutional crisis” in the party, arguing that the tenure of the last national working committee, constituted in February 2022, had expired.
The Mamata Banerjee camp, however, rejected the exercise, with senior leader Kunal Ghosh saying the dissidents had no authority to convene such a session or alter the party’s organisational structure.
The TMC’s internal crisis intensified after a section of MPs and MLAs moved against the party leadership. The rebel faction has claimed support from a large number of legislators, while the Mamata Banerjee camp has maintained that the dissidents have no organisational legitimacy. (PTI)