The battle for control of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) escalated on Tuesday after Mamata Banerjee's camp claimed it had finalised a new National Working Committee and submitted the party's office-bearers' list to the Election Commission (EC) before a rebel faction announced a parallel leadership structure and removed her as party chairperson.
According to sources in the Mamata Banerjee camp, the party's leadership structure and a 24-member National Working Committee were finalised on Saturday and communicated to the EC on Monday afternoon, hours before dissident leaders led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee held a special session in Kolkata and unveiled a rival organisational set-up.
The submission to the poll panel asserted that Mamata Banerjee remains chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress, with Subrata Bakshi as vice-president, Abhishek Banerjee as national general secretary, Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen as joint secretaries, and Subhasish Chakraborty as treasurer.
"While the rebel camp was making preparations for its own National Working Committee, Mamata Banerjee had already finalised the party's organisational structure and sent the list to the Election Commission as the chairperson of the TMC," a senior leader of her camp told PTI.
Sources said the list submitted to the EC reflected the party's organisational structure "as on June 20, 2026" and included a national working committee comprising Mamata Banerjee, Subrata Bakshi, Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen, Subhasish Chakraborty, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Amit Mitra, Rajesh Pati Tripathi, Asima Patra, Moloy Ghatak, Gautam Deb, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Bulu Chik Baraik, Mukul Sangma, Baiswanor Chattopadhyay, Birbaha Hansda, Kalyan Banerjee, Saugata Roy, Nadimul Haque, Madan Mitra, Biman Banerjee, Mahua Moitra and Kunal Ghosh.
Chandrima Bhattacharya was listed both as a member of the national working committee and West Bengal TMC president, while Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay was named Leader of the West Bengal Assembly.
The development comes a day after a rebel faction of the party announced that it had removed Mamata Banerjee as chairperson, elected senior MLA Arup Roy to the post and constituted a 30-member National Working Committee, deepening the organisational split within the party.
The faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee said the move was necessitated by what it termed a "constitutional crisis" within the party, arguing that the tenure of the previous National Working Committee, constituted in February 2022, had expired. The dissidents claimed the special session was held in accordance with the party constitution and said the proceedings would also be communicated to the EC.
The Mamata Banerjee camp, however, dismissed the rebel exercise and maintained that the dissidents lacked any organisational legitimacy.
"It is a comedy show. A man who has been expelled from the TMC is holding a special session. The matter is in the court and we believe justice will be done. We do not give any importance to such comical behavior. TMC is equal to Mamata Banerjee. All else is a circus," senior party leader and MLA Kunal Ghosh asserted.
Sources in the Mamata camp said the committee structure sent to the EC differed from previous organisational arrangements, with several leaders associated with the dissident camp omitted. Aroop Biswas, who had been part of a National Working Committee constituted earlier this month, was among those dropped from the revised panel.
In a parallel move, the party's disciplinary committee issued show-cause notices to several senior leaders, including Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Arup Roy, Javed Khan, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra, Snehasis Chakraborty and Sabina Yasmin, alleging anti-party activities.
The internal crisis has intensified amid a rebellion by around 20 MPs and a section of MLAs in West Bengal. While the rebel faction claims support from a substantial number of legislators, the Mamata camp insists the dissidents have no authority to alter the party's organisational structure.
With rival factions now staking claim to both the party's legislative and organisational wings, the dispute is expected to be fought before the Election Commission and could eventually move to the courts, setting the stage for a prolonged legal and political battle over control of the party founded by Mamata Banerjee in 1998.