Kolkata, Sep 2 (PTI) The bitter factional battle within the TMC spilled onto the doorstep of the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday, with rival camps seeking to establish their political presence and claim the media spotlight.
The contest for the Assembly gates unfolded almost like a political relay race.
For the past two days, Riju Dutta, recently appointed national and state spokesperson of the rebel TMC faction led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, had been addressing journalists outside the Assembly.
On Wednesday, before Dutta could face the media again, five young leaders from the Mamata Banerjee-led camp arrived at the main gate, turning the spot into an unlikely theatre of the widening organisational battle within the party.
The group comprised Upasana Choudhury, Priyanka Adhikari, Mrityunjay Pal, lawyer Arka Nag and youth leader Arnab Banerjee.
The episode underlined how the factional contest, which has already affected the functioning of the Assembly and led to questions over control of the party’s organisation, name and election symbol, is increasingly being fought in public view.
Sources said the immediate trigger for Wednesday’s counter-move was a discussion among some legislators of the Mamata camp after Dutta held media interactions outside the Assembly over the past two days.
It was during this phase that senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh appeared at the spot, the sources claimed. The following day, the five young leaders were brought in as a counter to Dutta’s presence.
The five, however, rejected the suggestion that they had come merely to counter the Ritabrata camp.
“We have been working on the ground and have been associated with the organisation. Why compare us with those who have never organised even a club or raised the national flag in their neighbourhood on August 15?” Mrityunjay, considered close to Ghosh, said.
By evening, Dutta returned to the same spot after the five leaders had left.
“I have faced journalists for two days. Is that enough to frighten Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee? Do they need to send five people against me? I liked this fear,” Dutta said, taking a swipe at the rival camp.
The symbolism of the location was hard to miss.
The party is now effectively divided between the Mamata Banerjee-led Kalighat camp and the dissident faction headed by Banerjee, who has claimed the post of Leader of the Opposition.
The dissident camp has sought to demonstrate that it commands the support of a majority of TMC legislators.
Of the 80-member TMC legislative group, 65 MLAs had backed Ritabrata’s claim to the Leader of the Opposition’s post, rejecting the nominee supported by the Mamata Banerjee-led leadership.
The rebels subsequently convened a special session, elected senior MLA Arup Roy as chairperson and announced a parallel national leadership structure, contending that the existing leadership had lost the confidence of a majority of elected representatives.
The Mamata camp, however, continues to describe Ritabrata as an “interim” Leader of the Opposition, citing an order of the Calcutta High Court’s division bench.
The confrontation has since extended beyond the state legislature.
Twenty TMC Lok Sabha MPs aligned themselves with the little-known NCPI and joined the BJP-led NDA, deepening the organisational and political rupture within the party.
The larger battle also encompasses the Trinamool Congress’ name and its “grass-and-flower” election symbol, with the rival factions pursuing their claims before the Election Commission in Delhi.
Against this backdrop, the scramble for visibility outside the Assembly assumes significance beyond a routine exchange of political statements.
For both camps, the stretch outside the legislature has become another political stage — where every press conference, counter-statement and show of strength is aimed not merely at journalists but also at legislators, party workers and the wider electorate.
What began with Dutta’s media briefings has therefore evolved into a contest for political space at the Assembly’s doorstep — a small but telling reflection of the larger battle for control of the Trinamool Congress. PTI PNT NN
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