Mamata camp claims it sent office-bearers’ list to EC before unveiling of rival leadership line-up

Kolkata (PTI): The battle for control of the TMC escalated on Tuesday, with Mamata Banerjee's camp claiming it had finalised a revamped National Working Committee (NWC), and communicated the new organisational structure to the Election Commission before a rebel faction removed her as party chairperson and unveiled a rival leadership line-up.

The disclosure came as dissident leaders led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee prepared to approach the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal later in the day, seeking to bolster their claim over the party organisation, and opening a fresh institutional front in the struggle for control of the outfit founded by Mamata Banerjee in 1998.

According to leaders loyal to Mamata Banerjee, the party's leadership structure and a 24-member NWC were finalised on Saturday, and the revised list was submitted to the EC on Monday, hours before the dissident camp held a special session in Kolkata and announced a parallel organisational set-up.

"While the rebel camp was making preparations for its own NWC, Mamata Banerjee had already finalised the party's organisational structure and sent the list to the EC as the chairperson of the TMC," a senior leader of her camp told PTI.

Sources said the list submitted to the poll panel named Mamata Banerjee as chairperson, Subrata Bakshi as vice-president, Abhishek Banerjee as national general secretary, Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen as joint secretaries, and Subhasish Chakraborty as treasurer.

The revised panel marked a departure from the committee announced earlier this month, dropping several leaders who subsequently joined the dissident camp. Among those omitted were Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas, while Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haque was inducted into the new structure, the sources said.

The move appeared aimed at pre-empting a challenge from the rebels, who on Monday convened what they described as a special session of the All India Trinamool Congress at a hotel in New Town, elected senior MLA Arup Roy as chairperson and constituted a 30-member NWC.

Leaders from several districts attended the meeting, which formally endorsed the parallel organisational structure announced by the dissident camp.

On Tuesday, the rebel faction sharpened its offensive, with its leaders set to visit the CEO's office after the assembly session and seek recognition of their organisation as the legitimate Trinamool Congress.

The move would be the first formal attempt by the dissidents to place their claim before election authorities after Mamata Banerjee's camp submitted its revised office-bearers' list to the EC.

In another decision, the TMC's disciplinary committee issued show-cause notices to several senior leaders, including Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Arup Roy, Javed Khan, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra, Snehasis Chakraborty and Sabina Yasmin, alleging anti-party activities.

Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh has dismissed the rebels' actions.

"It is a comedy show. A man who has been expelled from the TMC is holding a special session. The matter is in court and we believe justice will be done. We do not give any importance to such comical behaviour. The TMC is equal to Mamata Banerjee. All else is a circus," he asserted.

Ritabrata Banerjee, however, defended the legality of the dissident camp's moves.

"Kunal Ghosh is not the Election Commission. Whatever we have done has been strictly in accordance with the law," he said.

The organisational battle follows an earlier confrontation over the party's finances. The dissident faction had approached police seeking suspension of transactions in three TMC bank accounts, triggering an inquiry into the funds and signalling its intent to challenge the party leadership on multiple fronts.

The latest developments come amid an unprecedented crisis within the opposition party following its defeat in the assembly elections that ended its 15-year rule in West Bengal.

The first major blow to the party leadership came when 58 of the TMC's 80 MLAs backed expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee's claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition, rejecting the party high command's nominee Sovandeb Chattopadhyay. The rebel camp now claims support from around 65 legislators.

The crisis subsequently spread to Parliament, where 20 of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs broke away, merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and extended support to the BJP-led NDA. The party also witnessed high-profile exits from the Rajya Sabha, including that of veteran leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy.

Political observers said the central question now is which of the rival organisational structures would be recognised by election authorities. With competing factions staking claim to both the legislative and organisational wings of the TMC, the dispute appears increasingly likely to be fought before the EC and, potentially, the courts.