Trinamool Congress Split Deepens: Both Factions Submit Rival Office-Bearer Lists to EC

The internal crisis within the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) intensified on Tuesday as both factions loyal to party chairperson Mamata Banerjee and the rebel group led by Ritabrata Banerjee submitted separate lists of office-bearers and national working committee members to the Election Commission (EC).

The loyalist faction, led by Ms. Banerjee, submitted a list retaining her as party chairperson. Subrata Bakshi was named vice-president, and Abhishek Banerjee as national general secretary and leader of the party in the Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen were listed as joint secretaries, with Subhasish Chakraborty as treasurer. The national working committee includes these members along with Chandrima Bhattacharya, who was named West Bengal Trinamool Congress president, and Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the West Bengal Assembly.

Simultaneously, the rebel faction submitted its own list to the EC through the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in West Bengal. This group held a special session in Kolkata on Monday and elected former Minister Aroop Roy as the new party chairperson. MLAs Sandipan Saha, Jawed Khan, and Ritabrata Banerjee were declared general secretaries. Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, personally submitted the list on Tuesday, describing the process as routine.

The split follows the Trinamool Congress's defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, where it won only 80 seats against the Bharatiya Janata Party's majority. Since then, a significant number of party MLAs and MPs have shifted allegiance. According to Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee, 65 of the party's 80 MLAs now support him, while 14 remain with Ms. Banerjee and one is in custody. Among the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs, 20 have formed a separate group and merged with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India, pledging support to the BJP-led central government.

Sources close to Ms. Banerjee's camp confirmed that show-cause notices have been issued to rebel leaders who assumed office-bearer positions previously held by her loyalists. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, while addressing the state assembly, remarked that the Trinamool Congress would not recover from this split, calling it an unprecedented internal collapse.

The rival submissions to the EC mark a formal escalation in the party's internal conflict, with both sides claiming legitimacy. The EC is expected to examine the submissions and may recognize one faction as the official party, a decision that could have significant implications for the party's political future and assets.