Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 4: Even as the claims over recognition as the “real Trinamool Congress” is pending before the Election Commission of India (ECI), the tussle between the two rival groups was witnessed on the Kolkata streets with both sides claiming control of the party headquarters amidst a fresh jolt to the former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as one of her very close associates quit the party and joined the rebel group.
Ms Chandrima Bhattacharya, who was appointed by Me Banerjee the president of the West Bengal unit of the party only last month, resigned from all the party posts and as the primary member of the TMC and walked into the office of the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Ritabrata Banerjee, the main leader of the TMC rebel group. “Where there is no faith, where there is no trust, it is not possible to work. That is why we resigned,” she said after resigning from her posts.
On Friday, the rebel group led by Ritabrata Banerjee occupied and locked the party’s metropolitan headquarters, Trinamool Bhavan, located next to Eastern Metropolitan bypass, in Kolkata. Accompanied by a group of MLAs including Firhad Hakim, the former minister and mayor of Kolkata and one of the most trusted lieutenants of Ms Banerjee, Sandipan Saha, Javed Khan, Akhruzzaman and others, Mr Banerjee went to the party headquarters office. “We are the real Trinamool. This is our office. Trinamool’s emotions are associated with this office,” Mr Banerjee said. He added that he had a discussion with the owner on rent related issues.
The dissidents changed the locks, installed a signboard designating Arup Roy as party chairman, and laid claim to being the “Real TMC” before the Election Commission. In response, leaders loyal to Mamata Banerjee also rushed to Trinamool Bhavan and filed police complaints against the takeover, leading to heavy deployment of CRPF and Kolkata Police around the facility.
The development came a day after Ritabrata Banerjee and other MLAs belonging to his camp met the full bench of Election Commission (EC) in Delhi and staked claim for the party. The EC has written to both Trinamool camps, led by Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee, seeking responses regarding “claims and counter claims” made by them with respect to organisational elections and authorised signatories.
On receiving the information that the Ritabrata camp was trying to occupy the party office, loyalists of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – MLA Kunal Ghosh and Baishwnar Chatterjee – arrived at the office to stake claim. Mr Chatterjee told presspersons that they have a rent agreement till October 2027 and the party office belongs to them.
“There is no party without Mamata Banerjee and it is her office. I don’t know at whose behest they (the rival faction) are doing this. We will fight it in accordance with the law,” he said. “With the direct support of the government and the police, an expelled person has become the B team of the BJP (referring to Ritabrata Banerjee),” Mr Ghosh said.
The rebels put a banner with a photo of their newly elected chairperson Arup Roy at the building. Another banner with Mamata Banerjee’s photograph and the name of the party also remained hung at the building. Mr Banerjee was elected as Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly on June 3, with the support of 58 MLAs. The rebel camp now claims the support of 65 of 80 MLAs.
The owner of the Trinamool Metropolitan party office, as it is referred to, is owned by Monotosh Saha, whose company was given the contract of setting up stage for the party during election campaign. However, after the assembly polls the relationship between the owner and the Trinamool changed and he started demanding the property back from the party.
Amidst the party office row, Ms Bhattacharya’s resignation came as a fresh jolt to the former chief minister. Bhattacharya was appointed state president after the Assembly election defeat. She had replaced Subrata Bakshi as state president after Mamata Banerjee dissolved all party committees and restructured the organisation on June 3, following the electoral setback against the BJP.
“I hereby tender my resignation from the post of State President of All India Trinamool Congress, which was conferred on me in the meeting at Kalighat on 03.06.2025. I also hereby resign from all other posts which I hold at present,” she said in her resignation letter.
“Please note that I withdraw myself as the authorised signatory of All India Trinamool Congress and all other related organisations in respect of the accounts maintained in various banks. I also withdraw myself from being your authorised person before the Election Commission of India,” she added. She ended the letter by stating that she will always have the highest regard for Mamata Banerjee.
Soon after sending her resignation, Chandrima Bhattacharya met the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee at the Bengal Assembly. Ritabrata Banerjee has been appointed Leader of Opposition in Assembly as most MLAs supported despite Mamata Banerjee nominating senior TMC MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay for the post.
Mamata Banerjee camp MLA Kunal Ghosh, in a stinging retort to Chandrima Bhattacharya’s resignation, asked why she did not resign “when she enjoyed plum portfolios given by Mamata Banerjee during her government.” Chandrima Bhattacharya is a former minister in West Bengal and was long considered one of Mamata’s closest aides.
Reacting to the latest exit from the Trinamool, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said People of Bengal have no interest in Mamata Banerjee’s party anymore. “It doesn’t matter anymore which direction the TMC is heading in and which faction is going to take charge of the party. People know TMC has lost its political relevance,” he said.
The Trinamool Congress is facing an existential crisis as it has been hit by a stunning rebellion within its ranks since the Assembly election debacle. While a majority of its 80 MLAs have broken away and formed a separate group led by Ritabrata Banerjee, 20 of the party’s MPs have also revolted and declared support for the NDA after merging with a little-known party, NCPI.
