The high-stakes battle for dominance and legitimacy over the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has intensified Notably, reaching a crucial turning point. In this ongoing tussle for supremacy and the rightful claim to being the original party, the faction led by Mamata Banerjee has approached the Election Commission of India. In a massive display of political strength and administrative paperwork, the Mamata camp submitted two large trucks filled with recruitment documents and formal affidavits bearing the signatures of 38 MLAs and 17 MPs to the poll panel. This major development has taken center stage in the political corridors of West Bengal, where two distinct factions are fiercely locking horns to secure control over the party name and its coveted electoral symbol.
Following the earlier submission of documents by Ritabrata Banerjee's Democratic Trinamool, the Mamata faction has now also submitted its extensive records to the Election Commission to unequivocally prove its status as the original Trinamool, while on Sunday, the Mamata camp deployed two trucks loaded with official documents directly to the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi. The affidavits submitted at the poll body's headquarters in the national capital bear the signatures of party leader Mamata Banerjee alongside a total of 17 Members of Parliament from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Plus, a total of 38 Members of Legislative Assembly have signed the affidavits demanding that Mamata's faction be recognized as the authentic Trinamool. Out of these 38 legislators, 32 are from West Bengal, five belong to Meghalaya, and one hails from Assam.
Three prominent MPs of the Mamata Trinamool faction, Kalyan Banerjee, Dola Sen, and Derek O'Brien, arrived in New Delhi on Sunday to officially submit these voluminous documents at the commission's headquarters. Speaking to the media persons right outside the commission office after completing the submission, MP Kalyan Banerjee made a significant statement, while he announced that yet another truck completely stuffed with documents is scheduled to reach New Delhi very soon. The Lok Sabha MP from Sreerampur informed reporters, We've successfully submitted the original affidavits, and both hard copies as well as soft copies of the documents have been formally deposited with the election authorities. He added that they will publish all of these documents and hand over copies of the affidavits to Ritabrata Banerjee or his legal counsel at the appropriate juncture.
Launching a sharp and aggressive attack on Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Ritabrata's Democratic Trinamool amidst this fierce battle for control over the party, Kalyan Banerjee remarked, We will definitely provide them with copies of the affidavits as well. However, he also alleged that once these documents are handed over, Suvendu Adhikari's police force and political team will harass and arrest our people, though he asserted that they aren't frightened by such tactics. Following the major political turmoil in West Bengal, four out of the 13 Trinamool MPs resigned from their Rajya Sabha seats and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, returning to the upper house of Parliament. These leaders are Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev, Prakash Chik Barik, and Koya Mallick, while Also, 20 out of the 28 Lok Sabha MPs have aligned themselves with a newly formed political entity named NCPI.
Kalyan Banerjee clarified that 8 Lok Sabha MPs and 9 Rajya Sabha MPs have appended their signatures to the affidavits backing the Mamata faction. He strongly emphasized that none of the MPs who chose to join the NCPI have signed their affidavits. On top of that, he shared vital information that out of the 14 founding members of the Trinamool party, seven have already passed away. Ever since Mamata Banerjee's party faced a defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections, internal discord and bitter rivalry have plagued the organization. Kalyan Banerjee claimed that out of the remaining seven founding members, six have extended their support and signed affidavits on behalf of the Mamata Trinamool faction. Members of the National Working Committee of the Mamata camp have also signed these official documents.
During the West Bengal assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress had emerged victorious on 80 seats. When Ritabrata was chosen as the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, he had asserted that he enjoyed the backing of 58 MLAs, a figure he later claimed had risen to 65. On Sunday, it's widely believed that several legislators from the Ritabrata camp also signed the affidavits presented by the Mamata faction, given Kalyan's report of securing signatures from 32 MLAs. Deep-seated factionalism and intense infighting have gripped the party ever since the electoral setback faced by Mamata Banerjee in the state assembly polls.
Earlier on November 5, the Ritabrata camp had transported and delivered its documents stacked across multiple trucks to the poll panel office. However, the Mamata Trinamool faction has maintained that it has not yet received copies of those documents. Prior to this, the Mamata camp had raised serious allegations that the Ritabrata camp was utilizing the backing of the police and local administration to manufacture and submit affidavits. 2 million workers, leaders, and supporters.
Akhruzzaman further claimed that the number of people backing Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee on their side far exceeds the total count of MLAs supporting the Mamata faction. He asserted that the exact number of signatures submitted by the rival camp will only become crystal clear after the official hearings conclude before the Election Commission, while we firmly believe that the documentation we've successfully submitted will officially secure the twin-flowers symbol and the Trinamool name for our side, he added. Thus, the intense legal and political tug-of-war for the rightful ownership of the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has now firmly landed before the Election Commission, with both rival factions pulling out all stops to establish their legitimate succession.