The Election Commission of India (ECI) has written to both factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee, respectively, seeking responses regarding “claims and counter claims” made by them with respect to organisational elections and authorised signatories.

Both sides have been asked to submit their responses by 5:30 p.m. on Monday (July 6, 2026), sources in the ECI said on Thursday (July 2, 2026).

Earlier in the day, a full Bench of the poll body met the rebel faction of the party led by the Uluberia Purba MLA Ritabrata Banerjee.

The Mamata Banerjee side of the party, however, questioned the ECI’s decision to grant an audience to the rebel faction, alleging that the meeting violated the poll body’s own procedures of granting appointments to only authorised signatories of a recognised political party.

TMC submits response to EC, rejects rebel faction’s claim as ‘fraudulent’

“The ECI had informed all parties about their rule where only authorised representatives of parties can request a meeting with a full Bench of the ECI. We have not asked for any meeting. On what grounds is the ECI meeting the breakaway MLAs of the party? We decide who represents our party. Gyanesh Kumar (Chief Election Commissioner) has no role or power to decide for us,” TMC MP Saugata Roy told media persons.

After the meeting with the ECI, Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee said the 10-member delegation led by him had formally placed its case before the poll panel, after informing it of the faction’s special organisational session held in Kolkata on June 22.

The Commission gave them a “patient hearing” on their claim over the party, he said, and expressed hope that the poll body would respond shortly

Even as he declined to disclose the documents submitted to the ECI, Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee said the rebel faction had “abided by all rules” while conducting the June 22 organisational session.

“The All India Trinamool Congress had a special session in Kolkata on June 22. Immediately after the session, we formally informed the Election Commission about it in writing. We also met the Election Commission in Kolkata and sought an appointment with the Election Commission of India,” he said, adding that this was part of the prescribed procedure, and that the faction had already completed the process.

Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee reiterated the faction’s claim that it represented the “real” Trinamool Congress.

On June 3, 58 Trinamool Congress MLAs submitted a letter to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker nominating Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly. This was against the party’s decision to nominate 10-time MLA and veteran leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay to the position on May 20.

On June 22, the “rebel” group removed Ms. Mamata Banerjee, who founded the party in 1998, as the TMC chairperson, appointing their own national working committee of the party. On the following day, they moved the ECI to lay claim to the party name and symbol.

The group led by Ms. Mamata Banerjee, following a meeting of the TMC’s national working committee on June 20, informed the ECI of the changes made in the party organisation, including the appointment of two joint secretaries — Dola Sena and Derek O’ Brien.

In the Lok Sabha, too, the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party saw a split, with 20 out of 28 MPs merging into the little-known Nationalist Citizen Party of India. 

Amidst the ongoing rebellion in the party, the Trinamool Congress led by party chairperson Mamata Banerjee has sent a fresh list of its office-bearers and national working committee members to the Election Commission (EC). The rebel faction of the party, which had appointed a new chairperson on Monday (June 22, 2026), also submitted a list of office-bearers to the EC through the office of Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal.

In the list submitted by her loyalists, Ms. Banerjee remains the chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress, while Subrata Bakshi is the vice-president and Abhishek Banerjee is the national general secretary and the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha.

The list has named Derek O’Brien (Rajya Sabha MP) and Dola Sen as joint secretaries and Subhasish Chakraborty as treasurer. The national working committee includes Ms. Banerjee, Mr. Bakshi, Mr. Banerjee, Mr. O’Brien, Ms. Sen, and Mr. Chakraborty.

Chandrima Bhattacharya has been listed as West Bengal Trinamool Congress president and Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the West Bengal Assembly. The two are also members of the national working committee.

The development comes a day after the rebel faction, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, held a special session in Kolkata and announced a parallel organisational structure. Former Minister Aroop Roy has been appointed as the new chairperson of the party, and MLAs Sandipan Saha, Jawed Khan, and Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee have been declared as general secretaries.

On the day Ms. Banerjee’s loyalists wrote to the EC, Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee reached the office of Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal. He said that after the national working committee of the party met and elected the party chairperson, it was necessary to inform the same to the EC.

“The Election Commission must be apprised whenever such events take place. It was a routine process; we had already apprised them in Delhi, and today we came here to do the same..,” the LoP said. Meanwhile, sources close to Ms. Banerjee’s camp said that the party had issued show-cause notice to the leaders of the rebel camp who had been appointed as office-bearers replacing Ms. Banerjee and Mr. Abhishek Banerjee.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari also spoke about the rebellion in the Trinamool Congress and said that the party would never recover from the split. “There are several parties who have lost elections, but nobody suffers from a fate like this (referring to the Trinamool Congress),” Mr. Adhikari said while speaking in the State Assembly.

After the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls, which the Trinamool Congress lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party, a rebellion started in the party’s rank and file. On June 3, 58 MLAs of the party supported Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee in his claim as the Leader of Opposition. The number of MLAs in his support now has increased to 65, as per the LoP’s claims. Out of 80 MLAs of the Trinamool who won in the election, 14 are supporting Ms. Banerjee and one is behind bars.

Among the party’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs, 20 have decided to part ways with Ms. Banerjee and have formed a separate group. They have merged with little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and have decided to support the BJP-led government at the Centre.

The decision made by the rebel MPs of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to merge with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) might not be a foolproof way of avoiding disqualification under the anti-defection law, but it can allow them to vote in the Lok Sabha, pending a decision from the Speaker in case the TMC files a petition seeking their disqualification.

With sources in the government indicating that the Centre is likely to bring the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026 or the Delimitation Bill as early as the monsoon session of Parliament, which is likely to begin in mid-July, it becomes crucial that this bloc, which has promised support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gets to vote when the said Bills are taken up. In April, the government had fallen short of the two-thirds majority required for its passage.

Loyalists of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee within the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday (June 3) said that an expelled leader such as Ritabrata Banerjee cannot function as their Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. This comes after 58 Trinamool MLAs joined hands with Mr. Banerjee and defected from the party and declared themselves the principal Opposition party in the house. They also declared Mr. Banerjee their Leader of the Opposition. 

“The MLAs who won are all Trinamool candidates and have used the image of Ms. Mamata Banerjee to win. She has worked hard to make these MLAs win. Now, an expelled leader cannot be the head of a political party,” senior Trinamool MLA Kunal Ghosh said, criticising the 58 MLAs who have rallied behind Mr. Banerjee. 

Mr. Ghosh further added that “Ms. Banerjee is the original Trinamool Congress” — the leader who gave birth to the party. “She is the Maa of Trinamool,” Mr. Ghosh said. 

Mr. Banerjee along with MLA Sandipan Saha were expelled from the party on Monday on allegations of “anti-party activities”. 

After the rift in the party, senior leader and Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee said that “people who stand by Ms. Mamata Banerjee today will continue to stand by her in the future”. 

“Those who chose to betray Didi today will ultimately be judged by the people. Their actions only reinforce the perception that they are no different from the BJP,” Mr. Kalyan Banerjee wrote. He further added that the true strength of the Trinamool lies in the grassroots workers of the party. 

Other supporters of Ms. Mamata Banerjee too echoed the sentiment. “Trinamool means Ms. Mamata Banerjee and people. People and Ms. Mamata Banerjee are both with the Trinamool,” MP Dola Sen said while on her way to attend a meeting at Ms. Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat. 

Speaking on similar lines, Trinamool’s Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra and other old loyalists of the party said that their party has only one leader and that is Ms. Mamata Banerjee. “What others are saying is not something I concern myself with,” Mr. Mitra said. 

Party units dissolved 

Earlier in the day, in an effort to curb dissent, Trinamool dissolved all party units across West Bengal. All frontal organisations run by the Trinamool also stood dissolved, the party said, highlighting the need for a massive overhaul after a humiliating electoral loss on May 4. 

“The party will undertake a comprehensive exercise of introspection, performance review and organisational assessment at every level. Based on the findings of this exercise, the organisational structure of the parent body and all frontal organisations will be reconstituted and announced in due course,” the Trinamool said in an official statement on their social media platforms. 

However, the developments led to rumours in the State and its political circles that the Trinamool party has been dissolved. However, Mr Ghosh said that the party continues to exist and that the rumours of it being dissolved are false. “The various committees of the Trinamool Congress have been dissolved, not the party itself,” Mr Ghosh said. He added that they are set to reimagine their structures and will set up the committees and local bodies in the coming days.