In a dramatic and rapidly escalating showdown for the ultimate control of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), a rebel faction spearheaded by Ritabrata Banerjee successfully took over the party’s primary organizational headquarters on Friday. The office is situated within the rented Metropolitan building located along the busy EM Bypass in Kolkata.

The high-stakes operation unfolded in the evening as a cohort of senior leaders—including Firhad Hakim, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, and Akhruzzaman—accompanied Ritabrata Banerjee to the premises. Upon entering the building, the group staged an internal meeting and formally declared that their faction represents the genuine, foundational authority of the Trinamool Congress. To signal this shift in power to the public, they hung fresh banners outside the building. These new banners prominently featured portraits of Mamata Banerjee positioned alongside text that clearly designated Arup Roy as the party’s newly recognized national chairman.

Following the conclusion of their meeting, the dissident leaders locked the main gates of the office and prepared to depart. Standing outside, Akhruzzaman confidently addressed members of the press to clarify their stance, stating: "We are the real Trinamool Congress and this office belongs to the Trinamool Congress. We already spoke to the house owner. This is our party office and it will remain our party office. The key of the main gate lock will be with us. I always used to come to this office. However, during the elections, I did not come here for many days. After a long time, I came here. This is nothing unusual,"

Firhad Hakim also spoke to emphasize a sense of organizational continuity, explaining that Mamata Banerjee remains respected as their chief advisor. He pointed out that keeping her photograph prominently displayed within the office walls serves as clear proof of their group's political legitimacy. Ritabrata Banerjee backed these assertions, directly calling the property “our party office” while adding that the finer details and future strategies discussed during their closed-door meeting would be made public in due course.

The calm did not last long. Shortly after the rebel group locked up and left the scene, loyalists from the camp dedicated to Mamata Banerjee arrived. Led by senior spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, the loyalist leaders found themselves completely locked out, creating a highly volatile and tense standoff on the streets as evening fell.

This aggressive maneuver greatly intensifies the bitter, ongoing civil war between the Ritabrata faction and the loyalist camp. The internal split originally fractured wide open following the party's unexpected and severe setbacks in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections. The dissidents, who confidently claim they hold the backing of a definitive majority of elected legislators, had previously convened a special session to vote out Mamata Banerjee from her position as organizational chairperson, electing Arup Roy in her stead. The Mamata camp has consistently and completely rejected these legislative maneuvers, branding them as entirely unconstitutional and invalid.

The physical takeover of the building occurred precisely one day after Ritabrata Banerjee led a special delegation to New Delhi to meet with the full bench of the Election Commission of India. During that high-profile meeting, the rebels formally staked their legal claim over the Trinamool Congress name, its recognizable election symbol, and its entire structural framework. In response, the Election Commission issued an expedited directive ordering both rival factions to submit their official claims, evidence, and legal counter-claims by 5:30 pm on July 6.

The Metropolitan building has functioned as the active, day-to-day national headquarters for the TMC since 2022. The party shifted its operations there after its permanent EM Bypass building was vacated and completely closed down to undergo total structural reconstruction. Leaders of the rebel faction insisted that their physical entry was fully legitimate, stating they had already finalized formal, fresh agreements with the property's landlords to operate directly out of the space. This statement came amid swirling allegations from the property owner regarding historical unpaid rent and expired lease agreements linked to the previous administrative setup.

Interestingly, following the declaration of the election results, the building's owner, Montu Saha, had explicitly requested the party to vacate the rented premises within a strict two-month window. Saha had cited rising security anxieties and the looming threat of post-poll violence as his main reasons. While the party's past leadership had formally assured the landlord that they would pack up and leave, the sweeping changes within the party hierarchy mean that those prior promises are now completely up in the air.

The TMC originally leased the building to serve as its temporary command center in 2022. This decision was made after the party high command chose to completely demolish and rebuild its long-standing permanent headquarters, Trinamool Bhavan, located in the Topsia neighborhood, celebrating their victory in the 2021 assembly elections. Saha's property was initially secured on a fixed two-year lease. However, because the construction work on the permanent Topsia building suffered extensive delays, the temporary lease had to be extended.

Severe Backlash from the Mainstream Mamata Camp

When Kunal Ghosh rushed to the EM Bypass office on Friday evening, he found himself completely barred from entering the building. To prevent physical clashes between the rival groups, a large contingent of Pragati Maidan police personnel alongside central security forces had to be deployed to secure the perimeter. Refusing to back down quietly, the Mamata faction promptly lodged a formal police complaint, accusing the rebel group of carrying out a forceful and illegal occupation of their designated office space. The loyalists openly alleged that the takeover could only have occurred with the unspoken, quiet assistance of the state administration and the local police force—an explosive charge that the dissidents quickly and firmly denied, as reported by PTI.

Defending his decision to avoid a physical brawl, Ghosh told reporters: "We will never break the lock and enter. The entire matter will be reported to Mamata and the party leadership," He went on to describe the entire evening's event as deeply "unfortunate," and accused the breakaway dissidents of intentionally trying to spread panic and confusion throughout the party's grassroots base. "Those who are making these claims did not win as independents. Workers are hurt by such actions. We will not indulge in any irresponsible conduct," Ghosh concluded.

Furthermore, Ghosh strongly countered the landlord's claims, asserting that the Trinamool Congress still possesses a fully valid, binding lease agreement with the property owner that runs all the way until the year 2027.

Taking the political fight online, firebrand TMC MP Mahua Moitra expressed her outrage on the social media platform X, stating: "BJP’s B team with security guards will never be able to steal @AITCofficial ‘s real treasure - Didi."

The Intense Legal Battle for Political Legitimacy

With the physical office currently locked up, the battleground shifts directly to the regulatory and legal arenas. The Election Commission of India has set a strict deadline, directing both rival factions to submit all relevant organizational documents, internal voting records, and formal counter-claims regarding control of the party by 5:30 pm on July 6.

The roots of this massive internal rebellion trace back to a massive disagreement over legislative leadership, when 58 out of the party’s 80 elected TMC MLAs openly revolted, choosing to back Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition instead of accepting the candidate officially nominated by Mamata Banerjee's core team. Today, the rebel camp claims their numbers have grown even further, stating they now enjoy the solid backing of roughly 65 state legislators. Just last month, this dissident group took the step of formally electing Arup Roy as their national chairperson, effectively building a parallel national leadership hierarchy.

Simultaneously, the party suffered a devastating blow on the national stage when 20 of its 28 elected Lok Sabha Members of Parliament decided to break away entirely. These 20 MPs aligned themselves with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and completed a formal merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

As of current news reports, no formal disqualification petitions under the anti-defection laws of the Tenth Schedule have been filed against Ritabrata Banerjee or his rebel MLAs within the state assembly. Instead of pursuing that route, the Mamata faction has chosen to legally challenge his official appointment as Leader of the Opposition directly before the Calcutta High Court. Conversely, on the national level in New Delhi, the Mamata faction is aggressively pushing forward with formal disqualification petitions against all 20 of the rebel Lok Sabha MPs, presenting their cases directly before Speaker Om Birla.

Trinamool Congress Accuses the Ritabrata Banerjee Faction of Criminal Trespass, Vowing Swift Legal Action

As the dust settled on Friday night, the Trinamool Congress issued a scathing statement formally accusing the rival faction led by the expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee of unlawfully trespassing into and occupying their organizational headquarters in Kolkata. This move has pushed a long-simmering internal rivalry into a full-scale legal war.

Senior TMC leaders confirmed that a formal criminal complaint has been filed with the police after members of the breakaway camp allegedly breached the office property and put up unauthorized locks on the gates. The ruling party made it clear that it will exhaust all available legal options to punish those involved in the incident.

Speaking to a packed room of journalists, senior TMC MP and legal heavyweight Kalyan Banerjee alleged that the rival group had taken possession of the building through completely illegal means, warning that the entire matter would be challenged aggressively in a court of law.

Reiterating those exact points, Kunal Ghosh noted that expelled individuals possess absolutely no legal right or authority to step onto the property or exercise any control over the Trinamool Bhavan premises. He leveled sharp criticism at the local police force, accusing them of standing by and failing to halt the illegal trespass, thereby allowing the rebel camp to lock up the office despite loud and repeated objections from loyal party workers.

Ghosh clarified that TMC supporters deliberately chose not to break the new locks or use force to reclaim the building because they wanted to prevent a violent breakdown of law and order on the streets. However, he alleged that the state police, the Rapid Action Force (RAF), and central security personnel remained completely passive, offering no help while the takeover was actively happening. He described the entire incident as a highly coordinated, calculated attempt to destabilize the party from within.

Adding to the fury, senior TMC leader Madan Mitra fiercely criticized the presence and behavior of the central security forces, claiming they acted as a protective shield for the dissident group. Mitra openly alleged that the rebel faction is operating entirely under the hidden instructions of the BJP. He questioned why similar high-level security protection had never been provided to ordinary TMC workers who, he claimed, continue to face targeted attacks and intimidation across West Bengal. Mitra further alleged that the police deliberately blocked senior TMC leaders from entering the premises, even though they had every right to access an adjoining office space.

This direct confrontation comes just a day after the Ritabrata Banerjee-led group stood before the full bench of the Election Commission to claim ownership of the Trinamool Congress name and its twin-flowers election symbol. Following that meeting, the breakaway camp immediately returned to Kolkata to hold their strategy session at the EM Bypass office, where Banerjee and his allies reiterated that they are the true faces of the party.

Leaders of the rebel camp have stuck firmly to their story, maintaining that they carefully fulfilled all necessary legal and financial formalities with the building's landlords before taking physical possession of the property. They announced that the Metropolitan building will now officially serve as the primary organizational headquarters for their faction moving forward.

This public clash marks the most explosive chapter yet in a leadership war that erupted immediately after the Trinamool Congress lost power in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections, leaving both factions fighting tooth and nail to be recognized as the one and only legitimate organization. The final determination now rests with the Election Commission, which is waiting for both groups to hand over all documentary evidence regarding the party’s true internal structure, its authorized office-bearers, and the legal control of the organization before the July 6 deadline.