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The Election Commission of India (ECI) has officially intervened in the ongoing leadership tussle within the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), seeking responses from both Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee regarding conflicting claims over the party's organisational structure and authorised signatories.
The poll body has directed both factions to submit their responses by 5:30 PM on Monday, July 6. The move comes amid a deepening rift within the party, with the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee claiming legitimacy over the party's symbols and administration. Reacting sharply to the ECI's decision to engage with the breakaway group, TMC MP Sougata Roy questioned the credibility of the rival faction, pointing out that Ritabrata Banerjee had been previously expelled from the party. "These people have no credibility. Our question is why were they given a separate meeting? They should not have been allowed. Ritabrata Banerjee was expelled from the party. What right do they have, or how can they represent the party?" Roy told ANI. TMC MP Sagarika Ghose dismissed the rival faction as an illegitimate group led by an expelled member, asserting that under ECI rules, only authorised party signatories have the legal standing to represent the party or meet with the Commission. Ghose said, "This isn't a faction at all. It's just a bunch of people gathered out of nowhere. Their 'self-appointed leader' has already been expelled from the party. The Commission's own rules state that only an authorised representative or a designated signatory of the party can write to the Commission and then meet with them. No one else can demand an appointment." On the other hand, Ritabrata Banerjee, leading a 10-member delegation, met with the full bench of the Election Commission. Following the meeting, he expressed satisfaction with the "patient hearing" provided by the Chief Election Commissioner. "A special session was held on 22nd June, and as per rules, we had sent our representatives to the ECI immediately after. We had given our documentation and requested that we want to meet the full bench," Ritabrata Banerjee said. He further added, "So, we would like to thank the ECI that the full bench gave time to our 10-member delegation. They gave us a patient hearing. CEC Gyanesh Kumar and other Commissioners said that they will get back to us." The political crisis within the party deepened after 58 of the TMC's 80 MLAs broke away from the Mamata Banerjee-led leadership following the Assembly poll defeat. The rebel legislators subsequently backed Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and announced a new 30-member National Working Committee. (ANI)
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