Trinamool Congress occupied the Trinamool Congress office at Metropolitan off the Eastern Metropolitan bypass on Friday evening, a day after the rebels met the full bench of the Election Commission in New Delhi’s Nirvachan Sadan.
The rebels led by Ritabrata Banerjee, the leader of Opposition in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, with former Mamata Banerjee-loyalist Firhad Hakim and other MLAs, who claim to be the real Trinamool sat in a ground floor room with the walls adorned with Mamata’s photograph.
“This is our party office. We have an emotional attachment to it. Those who were running the office earlier are not in a position to maintain it. We have requested the owner to let us continue to function from this office,” said Akhruzzaman, the Raghunathgunj MLA and Opposition chief whip.
A new flex announcing the Howrah Madhya MLA Arup Roy’s name as the chairman was put up inside the office.
On June 22, at a special plenary held at a hotel in New Town, Rajarhat, the rebels had announced a new working committee with Roy as the chairman. The former three-term chief minister Mamata was made an adviser.
“We want Mamata di to stay as an adviser. We have appealed to her. Why is she not advising us?” asked Akhruzzaman.
The Trinamool Congress had for years functioned from the Trinamool Bhawan off the EM Bypass in Topsia, which has been under renovation. In 2023, the party rented some floors of a premise at A/P-1/A Canal South road and had its war-room for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the 2026 Assembly polls. After the Trinamool was voted out of power the owner of the building served an eviction notice to the former ruling party of Bengal.
“A culture of forcible occupation is prevailing in the state. With the direct help of the state and police a suspended MLA is working as BJP’s B-team,” said Trinamool’s Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh.
By the time Ghosh reached the Trinamool Bhawan, the rebels had a new lock on the gate.
“We have just reached here. We are holding talks with the leadership. Those who cannot appear in daytime came here in the evening to create drama. These people were also elected on a Trinamool ticket. They cannot go to their constituencies and stand by the party workers who are facing violence. Differences can be sorted out within the party,” said Ghosh.
On Thursday, the rebels met the chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and other election commissioners to stake claim on the party name, symbol and funds, armed with documents.
The EC has asked both the sides to submit their responses to the claims and counter-claims by 5.30 pm Monday July 6.