Election Commission hears TMC factions, seeks more documents from rebel camp

On Saturday, the Election Commission held a meeting with both factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to address the ongoing dispute over the party's organizational control and claim to its name and symbol. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction was represented by Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien and four others, while Ritabrata Banerjee's faction was represented by Ritabrata himself.

The Election Commission hearing is significant as it precedes the October 6 Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls, with nomination papers due for filing on September 16.

Ritabrata Banerjee described the meeting as "fruitful" after it concluded, stating that the Commission had many queries, which were addressed by the representatives. He expressed hope that the faction would be recognized as the TMC. Ritabrata also addressed the upcoming Nandigram bypoll, noting that Mamata Banerjee has never won a direct Assembly election and has performed well in by-elections.

He mentioned that the faction is confident of their candidate being chosen and may withdraw their nominee in favor of Mamata if she decides to contest as an independent candidate.

The Mamata Banerjee-led faction responded after the meeting, stating that their delegation made it clear there is no dispute. They emphasized that the Mamata Banerjee-led party and the faction led by Ritabrata are on opposite sides. The faction cited internal elections held every five years to elect the chairperson and national working committee, dating back to 2006, 2011, 2017, and 2022, to support their claim of the chairperson and national working committee having a five-year term.

Kalyan Banerjee, another member of the Mamata faction, confirmed that their five-member delegation had made submissions and answered queries posed by the Election Commission.