NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday began hearing the dispute over the ownership of the TMC, with rival factions led by party supremo Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly Ritabrata Banerjee staking their respective claims to the party’s name, symbol and organisational control.
The hearing was conducted by the full ECI bench comprising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi here at the India International Institute of Democracy & Election Management (IIIDEM), officials said.
Both factions appeared before the commission and presented their respective claims and documents, the officials said, while confirming that the two sides were heard, and the commission would decide its next course of action after assessing the submissions made by each of them.
The dispute has been pending with the poll panel since July 2, after both camps approached the ECI following the TMC’s defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. The Mamata-led faction filed its response within the stipulated deadline on July 6, while the Ritabrata camp sought two extensions to submit its reply.
According to officials, the Ritabrata faction’s hearing began at 11 am and lasted for around 80 minutes. Its delegation included faction chairperson Arup Roy, chief whip Akhruzzman, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Riju Dutta.
Speaking after the hearing, Ritabrata said the proceedings were “very fruitful”, adding that the commission had raised several queries which his faction answered.
“We are hopeful because we are the TMC,” he said, while describing his faction as a democratic party that follows a proper documentation process.
The Mamata faction appeared before the commission around noon, with MPs Kalyan Banerjee, Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale, along with advocate Abhinav Singh. The hearing continued for nearly two hours.
Kalyan Banerjee said the faction had answered the commission’s queries and opposed any interim order. He also asserted that the party would contest the upcoming Rejinagar and Nandigram by-polls on the TMC symbol unless the ECI ruled otherwise.
“Till the time the Election Commission says that Mamata Banerjee is not the chairperson, up to that date, we can contest on our symbol,” Banerjee said.
The timing of the ECI proceedings is crucial, with the by-polls scheduled for October 6 and counting on October 9. The last date for filing nominations is September 16, leaving both factions with very little time to resolve the dispute over the party’s identity and symbol.
The TMC dispute has also been complicated by the emergence of a third bloc, involving 20 Lok Sabha MPs, who have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).
Founded by Mamata in 1998 after she split from the Congress, the TMC now faces a critical test over who retains its established political identity, election symbol and organisational legacy.