Speaking to reporters after submitting the response, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said the party had filed a “very detailed reply” to the Election Commission in response to a representation made by rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee.
Rejecting the rebel faction’s principal contention that the tenure of the AITC committee and National Working Committee expired in 2025, Banerjee said the party constitution had been amended over the years to extend the tenure from three years to four years in 2000 and subsequently to five years in 2006, with the changes communicated to the Election Commission.
“The last organisational election was held in 2022. Therefore, automatically, the life of the AITC and National Working Committee remains for a period of five years. It will expire in 2027,” he said, adding that the allegation that the committee’s tenure had ended in 2025 was “incorrect and not supported by the constitutional provisions” of the party.
He also argued that the rebel leaders had themselves recognised the authority of the existing party leadership by contesting the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections on the TMC symbol using candidature papers signed by party chairperson Mamata Banerjee.
“If they say the party ceased to exist after 2025, then on what basis did they contest the election? Their own argument would make their election illegal. They should resign immediately,” Banerjee said.
The TMC leader further alleged that the rebel faction’s June 22 “special session”, in which it claimed to have reconstituted the party organisation, violated the AITC constitution.According to him, the party constitution envisages a multi-tier organisational process beginning at the block level, followed by district and state committees, before the AITC committee can be constituted. He alleged that these procedures were bypassed and that mandatory public notices and notices to MPs and MLAs were not issued.
“There was no media notification, no proper circulation and no notice to ex officio members. The alleged AITC constituted by them is a great fraud on the AITC constitution itself,” he said.
Calling the rival group’s actions a “completely fraudulent practice”, Banerjee said the process adopted by the rebels was “non-est” and contrary to the party constitution. He also accused the faction of illegally attempting to take control of party offices with the support of the state administration.
The Election Commission had asked both the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and the rival faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee to submit their claims and counter-claims over authorised signatories and organisational polls of the party.
The dispute intensified after the rebel faction met the full bench of the Election Commission last week and claimed it represented the “real” AITC, while the Mamata Banerjee camp questioned the poll panel’s decision to grant an audience to leaders it said had been expelled from the party.
