Kolkata: The two rival factions in the Trinamool Congress, both claiming the rights to the party name and election symbol, and subsequently over the party’s funds, on Monday submitted documents placing their respective arguments to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters in New Delhi.
On one hand, Lok Sabha members Kalyan Banerjee and Mahua Moitra, and the party’s Rajya Sabha member, Sagarika Ghose, who are representing the “original but minority” faction led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, personally turned up at the ECI to submit their documents.
On the other hand, instead of sending any delegation, a team of counsel representing the “rebel but majority” faction under the leadership of expelled Trinamool Congress legislator Ritabrata Banerjee submitted the documents on behalf of this faction to the Commission.
The Ritabrata faction has yet to issue an official clarification of what it argued in the documents submitted to the Commission on Monday. Last week, a 10-member delegation from the “rebel but majority” faction, including Ritabrata, met the full bench of the Commission and placed their arguments in support of their claims on the rights over the party’s name and symbol.
However, Kalyan Banerjee, who is himself a senior advocate, spoke to the media after submitting the documents on behalf of the “original but minority” faction.
He claimed that, from a legal standpoint, the faction he represents is in a much stronger position.
“But since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is backing them, anything otherwise can happen. Thereafter, we will take up the matter both in the court and also approach the public,” Kalyan Banerjee said.
Now that both factions have submitted their respective documents in the matter, the ball is in the ECI’s court. However, political observers feel that the ECI’s decision will not ultimately end the ongoing tussle between the two factions. Whichever party is aggrieved by the ECI’s forthcoming decision in the matter will surely approach the Supreme Court against it.
(IANS)
