TRINAMOOL’S WAR FOR ITS NAME AND SYMBOL TAKES A NEW TURN AS RITABRATA BANERJEE ALLEGES BID TO SEIZE AFFIDAVIT TRUCK

October 26, 2026

The bitter struggle between rival factions of the Trinamool Congress intensified on Monday after Democratic Trinamool Congress leader Ritabrata Banerjee alleged that unidentified miscreants attempted to take control of a truck carrying his faction’s affidavits and supporting documents to the Election Commission of India in New Delhi. The allegation has added a fresh layer of confrontation to the ongoing battle over the party’s original name and election symbol, with the rival camp rejecting the charge as baseless.

According to Ritabrata Banerjee, the documents had been dispatched by road on October 24 to meet the requirements of the Election Commission’s proceedings. In a post on social media platform X early on Monday, he claimed that an attempt had been made near the Haryana border to seize the vehicle and snatch the documents. He said workers accompanying the consignment had resisted the alleged attempt.

Describing the episode as an attempt at “organised loot”, Ritabrata drew a contrast between his faction’s road journey and the chartered flight reportedly used by the Mamata Banerjee-led camp to transport its affidavits to Delhi on Sunday evening. He characterised the dispute as a contest between what he called “Chartered Culture” and grassroots resolve, asserting that intimidation would not prevent his faction from presenting its case before the poll panel.

The allegations were reinforced by Akhruzzaman, an MLA aligned with the Ritabrata-led faction. He said the reported incident near the Haryana border had raised suspicions that the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, commonly referred to as the Kalighat camp, was involved. However, the accusation remains a claim made by the rival faction, and the available reports do not independently establish who was responsible for the alleged attempt or the precise circumstances surrounding it.

The Mamata Banerjee-led faction swiftly dismissed the allegations. Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen ridiculed the claims and maintained that the people would ultimately judge the competing political assertions. Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee also questioned the account, asking why a truck travelling from Kolkata to Delhi would take a route through Haryana and arguing that the Ritabrata-led group had the protection of central security personnel.

Kalyan Banerjee described the allegation as baseless and accused the rival faction of creating political drama. His response underscored the extent to which the dispute has moved beyond competing legal submissions into a public exchange of accusations, with each side questioning the motives and credibility of the other.

The confrontation is unfolding against the backdrop of a major organisational split following the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. The two factions are contesting control of the Trinamool Congress identity, including its original name and its familiar flowers-and-grass election symbol. Ritabrata Banerjee’s faction, operating under the name Democratic Trinamool Congress, has claimed majority support among elected legislators and is seeking recognition as the original party.

The Election Commission has temporarily barred both factions from using the original party name and reserved symbol while it examines their competing claims. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction has been allotted the name Mamata All India Trinamool Congress and the “Football Player” symbol, while the Ritabrata-led faction has been allotted the name Democratic Trinamool Congress and the “Envelope” symbol.

The Supreme Court has directed both sides to submit supporting documents and affidavits so that the Election Commission can assess their respective claims. On Monday, the court granted the rival factions an additional 20 days to complete their pleadings. Under the arrangement, the Democratic Trinamool Congress has been given 10 days to submit its counter-affidavit and relevant documents, followed by another 10 days for the Mamata-led faction to file its rejoinder.

The extension followed submissions from the lawyers representing the two camps. The Ritabrata-led faction cited difficulties in obtaining non-judicial stamp papers during the Dussehra period, while the Mamata camp questioned whether the necessary pleadings had been filed. The Supreme Court also made clear that either side would be entitled to challenge the admissibility of documents submitted by its opponent.

The affidavit process has itself become a source of controversy. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction has alleged that state police and administrative officials were helping the rival camp collect declarations in its favour, including claims that people were being pressured to sign affidavits on stamp paper. The faction had written to senior police officials and the state chief secretary earlier in October, warning of legal action over the alleged irregularities.

Mamata Banerjee has also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using money and intimidation to influence party workers and alleged that police and administrative machinery were being deployed to obstruct her faction’s efforts to submit documents. These allegations, like the accusations concerning the truck, remain contested claims made by the respective political camps.

The Election Commission’s eventual decision will depend on the evidence and submissions presented by both sides, rather than the intensity of their public exchanges. The competing affidavits are expected to play a central role in determining which faction can establish its claim to the original party identity under the applicable election-symbol rules.

For now, the alleged attempt to seize the document-carrying truck has sharpened an already bitter confrontation. Whether the incident leads to a formal investigation or produces evidence affecting the legal proceedings remains unclear. What is evident is that the struggle over the Trinamool Congress name and symbol has become a contest over organisational strength, documentary proof and political legitimacy, with the Election Commission’s decision likely to carry consequences far beyond the immediate dispute.

Until the allegations surrounding the truck are independently established, responsibility for the reported incident cannot be conclusively assigned. The decisive battle, meanwhile, continues before the Election Commission, where both factions must substantiate their claims through evidence rather than accusation.