A 10-member delegation of the Ritabrata Banerjee-led breakaway faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is likely to meet the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi on Thursday to stake claim to the party’s election symbol and bank accounts.The Ritabrata Banerjee-led group has sought Election Commission recognition as the official TMC and control of the party’s election symbol. (Samir Jana/ Hindustan Times)Banerjee said at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBI) in Kolkata before leaving for Delhi, “We have an appointment with the full bench of the ECI at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi at 12 noon on Thursday. They (the ECI) have allowed a delegation of 10 members. We are the All India Trinamool Congress. After we held a special session on June 22, we informed the poll panel and sought an appointment with the ECI.”The rebel legislators, recognised by West Bengal assembly speaker Rathindra Nath Bose as the principal opposition party in the House, on June 27 held their second meeting with former Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) councillors in a week, signalling a renewed challenge to Mamata Banerjee’s leadership ahead of the civic polls.MLA Arup Roy, who was a minister in the TMC government from 2011 to 2026, was appointed chairperson of the new national working committee.The rebel faction later went to the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) of West Bengal to submit a letter claiming recognition as the official All India Trinamool Congress and asserting its right to the party’s election symbol.Meanwhile, TMC joint national secretary Dola Sen lodged complaints at the New Town and Pragati Maidan police stations, alleging “forgery of party symbol and impersonation of the name All India Trinamool Congress”. The complaints also accused the rebel camp of circulating “false documents/electronic communications” and holding “unauthorised meetings”.Kunal Ghosh, a TMC legislator from the Mamata Banerjee camp, said, “This is BJP-sponsored. Those who wanted to defeat the TMC in Bengal are patronising them (rebel leaders). The rebel leaders won on TMC tickets. They are traitors. Those who have shifted to the rebel camp have several cases pending against them. They have all shifted sides to evade the law. The BJP is using them to disturb the TMC.”BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar hit back, saying, “The BJP has no interest in this. Why should we be bothered to know which faction of the TMC is meeting whom? What has the people of West Bengal to do with this? The ECI will decide.”