KOLKATA: Former West Bengal minister Aroop Biswas has written to HDFC Bank seeking a freeze on the Trinamool Congress's bank account, in a fresh blow to the party as it grapples with a deepening internal crisis following its defeat in the recent Assembly elections.
In the communication to the bank concerned, Biswas claimed that rival groups were asserting themselves as the legitimate representatives and office-bearers of the party, creating uncertainty over who was authorised to operate the accounts maintained in the name of the TMC.
The move comes as the party faces growing rebellion and days after the Calcutta High Court cleared the way for West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindranath Bose to recognise rebel Trinamool Congress MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition in the House.
Biswas, once considered a close aide of TMC supremo and former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, served as the party's treasurer until the Assembly elections, in which he lost the Tollygunj seat to BJP candidate Papiya Adhikari. And following the party's defeat, the TMC appointed former Rajya Sabha MP Subhashis Chakraborty as treasurer as part of an organisational overhaul, replacing Biswas.
The former minister recently appeared before the Bidhannagar South Police Station in Salt Lake for questioning over his alleged links to vandalism during an event featuring Argentine football star Lionel Messi at the Salt Lake Stadium in December last year and the alleged black-marketing of tickets.
In his letter to the bank, Biswas expressed concern that unauthorised persons could misuse signed cheques and sought maintenance of the status quo until the dispute is resolved by a competent authority.
"At present, rival groups are claiming to be the legitimate representatives and office bearers of AITC, resulting in uncertainty regarding the authority of persons who may seek to operate the bank accounts maintained in the name of AITC," he wrote.
"In order to safeguard the funds of the organisation... I request your good office to maintain status quo and refrain from permitting any debit transactions or changes in operational mandates in respect of the following account... until the dispute is duly resolved," Biswas wrote.
"It is further matter of public knowledge that a substantial number of elected representatives of the party, including 20 out of 28 Members of Parliament and 58 out of 90 Members of the Legislative Assembly, have either left the Party or have openly revolted against the existing leadership. In these circumstances, a serious dispute has arisen regarding the authority, control and management of the party,” he added.
"At present, rival groups are claiming to be the legitimate representatives and office bearers of AITC, resulting in uncertainty regarding the authority of persons who may seek to operate the bank accounts maintained in the name of AITC," Biswas said, expressing concern that some signed cheques, including those currently in the custody of rebel leaders whose authority is under dispute, may be misused.
Biswas also stated in his letter that he had faced hardship and was subjected to harassment over alleged discrepancies concerning the financial affairs of the Trinamool Congress.
Meanwhile, TMC MLA Kanailal Agarwal, who is aligned with the rebel camp said, "Aroop Biswas, as a treasurer of the party, is well within his rights to write to the bank to freeze the accounts if he feels that there might be an attempt to misuse the funds."
Notably, the TMC has been rocked by a rebellion in the state Assembly led by Ritabrata Banerjee, with the support of around 65 dissident legislators, after the party lost the crucial 2026 Assembly elections, securing only 80 of the state's 294 Assembly seats.
Meanwhile, the split extended to Parliament, where 20 rebel TMC MPs, including Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, moved away from the party's central leadership and sought a merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), claiming support of more than two-thirds of TMC's Lok Sabha members.
