Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and former West Bengal minister Aroop Biswas has reportedly sought restrictions on the operation of the party's bank accounts, citing an ongoing dispute over the authority and control of the organisation amid an escalating leadership crisis.
A two-page letter, dated June 12, 2026, and addressed to the manager of a private bank's Central Plaza branch in Kolkata, surfaced on social media. PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the communication. While the bank did not respond to queries, calls and text messages sent to Biswas seeking confirmation also remained unanswered.
According to the letter, Biswas, in his capacity as treasurer of the TMC, requested the bank to maintain status quo on the party's accounts and refrain from permitting any debit transactions or changes in operational mandates until the dispute is resolved.
In the communication to the bank concerned, Biswas claimed that rival groups were asserting themselves as the legitimate representatives and office-bearers of the party, creating uncertainty over who was authorised to operate the accounts maintained in the name of the TMC.
The letter further expressed apprehension that party funds could be utilised or appropriated by persons not duly authorised to do so. It also warned of the possibility of signed cheques being misused or presented for encashment without proper authorisation amid the alleged dispute.
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh said, "We know nothing about it. Neither spoke to Aroop Biswas nor the bank."
The development comes against the backdrop of an unprecedented split within the TMC, one of the most significant political developments in West Bengal since the 2026 assembly elections.
The crisis deepened after a group of 58 dissident TMC MLAs, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, broke away from the party leadership and secured recognition from the Speaker as the dominant legislature group in the state assembly. The faction subsequently elected Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition.
The division has also spread to Parliament, where 20 rebel TMC MPs, including Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, distanced themselves from the party's central leadership and sought a merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), claiming the support of more than two-thirds of the TMC's Lok Sabha members.
The political upheaval has sparked legal and constitutional disputes over legitimacy, anti-defection provisions and control of the party's legislative wings, marking the deepest internal crisis in the TMC's history.
TMC MLA Kanailal Agarwal, who is aligned with the rebel camp, defended the move by Biswas.
"Aroop Biswas, as a treasurer of the party, is well within his rights to write to the bank to freeze the accounts if he feels that there might be an attempt to misuse the funds."