TMC Crisis: Mamata Camp Banks on Two Arguments to Counter Rebels’ Claim

KOLKATA:
As the Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked both the factions of the Trinamool Congress to submit their responses by July 6 on the dispute over organisational elections and authorised signatories, the Mamata Banerjee-led camp is preparing a defence centred on two key arguments against the claim of the rival faction led by expelled party leader Ritabrata Banerjee.

According to insiders in the Mamata camp, the first argument concerns the status of rebel legislators who were nominated as Trinamool Congress candidates in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections with the approval and signature of Mamata Banerjee as the party’s national chairperson.

“So, our contention is that these legislators, including Ritabrata Banerjee, contested and won the elections on Trinamool Congress tickets and symbol after being nominated by Mamata Banerjee. Therefore, they cannot subsequently stake a claim over the party’s name and election symbol,” a legislator aligned with the Mamata camp said.

The Mamata camp is expected to highlight the authorised signatory issue in its submission to the ECI.

The second argument relates to the validity of the new National Working Committee announced by the rebel faction last month, replacing Mamata Banerjee as the party’s chairperson with legislator Arup Roy. The Mamata camp contends that the move was based solely on the rebels’ numerical strength in the West Bengal Assembly.

“Whereas, Mamata Banerjee was re-elected as the national chairperson of the party for life at the convention in February 2022, where delegates not only from West Bengal but from other Indian states were also present. So, the new national working committee announced just based on numerical supremacy in the state assembly cannot be valid and hence cannot stake claim on the party name and symbol,” said the legislator from the “original but minority” faction.

The Mamata camp also plans to stress that Ritabrata Banerjee had already been expelled from the party before initiating the present challenge.

“So, our question is how can an expelled legislator and his team of followers stake claim on the party name and election symbol,” the legislator loyal to Mamata Banerjee argued.

The ECI’s letters to both factions seeking clarification on organisational elections and authorised signatories were issued on July 2, the same day the Ritabrata-led faction appeared before the poll panel’s full bench and argued that its numerical majority entitled it to control the party’s name and election symbol.

A 10-member delegation of rebel legislators met the ECI’s full bench later that day. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Ritabrata Banerjee said there was no need for a separate demand regarding the party’s name and election symbol, asserting that the faction’s numerical majority already established its claim.