TMC split: Team Ritabrata usurps Trinamool’s old Metropolitan office in Kolkata

In a steep escalation of the fight over identity and organisational control of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Ritabrata faction on Friday took possession of the party’s erstwhile Metropolitan office along the EM Bypass.

Led by Bengal Leader of Oppposition Ritabrata Banerjee, the group declared it to be their “official” party headquarters and even announced that all organisational activities would be conducted from there from Saturday.

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Ritabrata was accompanied by senior leaders including Firhad Hakim, Sandipan Saha, Javed Khan, Akhruzzaman and several MLAs when he arrived at the office on Friday evening. The move came barely a day after the dissident leaders met the full bench of the Election Commission in New Delhi over the dispute concerning the party’s name, symbol and organisational legitimacy.

At the time the dissident leaders entered the premises, former state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, who has publicly reaffirmed her loyalty to Mamata Banerjee, was holding a meeting inside the building. Bhattacharya, however, left the office shortly afterwards without any reported confrontation.

Addressing reporters, Ritabrata asserted, “We are the Trinamool. This is our party office.”

The faction’s treasurer, Akhruzzaman, said the building held deep emotional significance for the party as it had served as Trinamool’s principal office long before it came to power in West Bengal. He claimed that a formal agreement had been signed with the property owners, enabling the faction to use the premises legally.

“This office has a strong emotional connection with Trinamul Congress. We have reached an agreement with the owners, and all party work will now be carried out from here,” Akhruzzaman said.

The dissident leaders also installed a new signboard outside the Metropolitan office displaying Arup Roy’s name as chairman of the Trinamool Congress. After the meeting concluded, the office was locked before the leaders left the premises, signalling what they described as the formal takeover of the historic party office.

Since the Assembly election results, both factions have claimed to be the legitimate Trinamool Congress, with the dispute extending to the party’s organisational structure, election symbol and control over its assets.

According to political observers, the move is likely to increase pressure on the Kalighat camp, as the Metropolitan office had long been regarded as the party’s original headquarters before the Trinamool shifted its operations after assuming power in the state.

The property itself has remained at the centre of a separate dispute. Owners Montu Saha and his son Amit Saha had earlier alleged that the building continued to remain under the party’s occupation for years despite repeated requests to vacate it. They had also threatened legal action if possession was not returned.