TMC submits response to poll body, rejects rebel faction's claim as 'fraudulent'

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jul 6, 2026 19:53 IST

The Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress on Monday told the Election Commission that a rival group's claim over the party was invalid, and said the All India Trinamool Congress organisational committees would remain valid till 2027 under the party constitution.

After submitting the response, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said the party had filed a "very detailed reply" to the Election Commission against a representation made by rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee. The dispute before the poll panel relates to authorised signatories and the party's organisational polls, after the rival faction claimed it represented the "real" AITC.

Rejecting the rebel faction's main argument that the tenure of the AITC committee and the National Working Committee ended in 2025, Banerjee said the party constitution had been amended over the years. He said the tenure was extended from three years to four years in 2000 and then to five years in 2006, and that these changes had been communicated to the Election Commission.

"The last organisational election was held in 2022. Therefore, automatically, the life of the AITC and National Working Committee remains for a period of five years. It will expire in 2027," he said. He added that the claim that the committee's tenure had ended in 2025 was "incorrect and not supported by the constitutional provisions" of the party.

Banerjee also said the rebel leaders had themselves accepted the authority of the existing leadership by contesting the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections on the TMC symbol with candidature papers 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 further alleged that the rival faction's June 22 "special session", in which it claimed to have reconstituted the party organisation, was against the AITC constitution. According to him, the constitution lays down a multi-level process starting at the block level, followed by district and state committees, before the AITC committee can be formed.

Banerjee alleged that these steps were skipped and that mandatory public notices, as well as notices to MPs and MLAs, were not issued. "There was no media notification, no proper circulation 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", he said the process adopted by the rebels was "non-est" and against the party constitution. He also accused the faction of trying to take control of party offices illegally with the support of the state administration.

The Election Commission had asked both the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and the rival faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee to submit their claims and counter-claims. The dispute sharpened after the rebel faction met the full bench of the Election Commission last week and said it represented the "real" AITC, while the Mamata Banerjee camp objected to the poll panel hearing leaders it said had been expelled from the party. In its reply, the TMC has rejected the rival faction's claims and maintained that the party's organisational bodies remain valid till 2027.

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