Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) MP's of Mamata faction (L-R) Kalyan Banerjee with Mahua Moitra and Sagarika Ghosh showing the letter after meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi on July 06, 2026.
| Photo Credit: R. V. Moorthy
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday (July 6, 2026) submitted its response to the Election Commission, rejecting the rival group’s claim over the party, underlining that the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Ritabrata Banerjee, who is leading the other faction, was not even a member of the party committee at the time of the last round of organisational elections in 2022. Mamata Banerjee supporters asserted that the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) organisational committees remain valid till 2027 under the party constitution.14-page replySpeaking to reporters after submitting the response, party MP Kalyan Banerjee said the party had filed a “very detailed reply” to the Election Commission in response to a representation made by rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee. The response is 14-page long, listing out the party’s constitution and tracing its formation in 1998. Rejecting the rebel faction’s principal contention that the tenure of the AITC committee and National Working Committee expired in 2025, Kalyan Banerjee said the party constitution had been amended over the years to extend the tenure from three years to four years in 2000 and subsequently to five years in 2006, with the changes communicated to the Election Commission.“The last organisational election was held in 2022. Therefore, automatically, the tenure of the AITC and National Working Committee remains for a period of five years. It will expire in 2027,” he said, adding that the allegation that the committee’s tenure had ended in 2025 was “incorrect and not supported by the constitutional provisions” of the party.The memorandum submitted by the party said that in 2022, Ms. Banerjee was elected unopposed as the party chairman following the procedure under the party constitution. It also said, “At the relevant point of time, the complainant Ritabrata Banerjee was not even a member of the AITC committee.” Kalyan Banerjee further argued that the rebel leaders had themselves recognised the authority of the existing leadership by contesting the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections on the TMC symbol using candidature papers—form A and B—signed by party chairperson Mamata Banerjee.“If they say the party ceased to exist after 2025, then on what basis did they contest the election? Their own argument would make their election illegal. They should resign immediately,” he said.He also alleged that the rebel faction’s June 22 “special session”, in which it claimed to have reconstituted the party organisation, violated the AITC constitution.According to him, the party constitution envisages a multi-tier organisational process beginning at the block level, followed by district and State committees, before the AITC committee can be constituted. He alleged that these procedures were bypassed and that mandatory public notices and notices to MPs and MLAs were not issued.“There was no media notification, no proper circulation of any notice and no notice to ex officio members. The alleged AITC constituted by them is a great fraud on the AITC constitution itself,” he said.Calling the rival group’s actions a “completely fraudulent practice”, Mr. Banerjee said the process adopted by the rebels broke every tenet of the party constitution. He also accused the faction of illegally attempting to take control of party offices with the support of the State administration.The Election Commission had asked both the Mamata Banerjee-led faction and the rival group led by Ritabrata Banerjee to submit their claims and counter-claims over authorised signatories and organisational polls of the party. The rebel faction met the full bench of the Election Commission last week, claiming to represent the “real” AITC. Published - July 06, 2026 05:27 pm IST
