Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Ritabrata Banerjee. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Trinamool Congress leaders loyal to Mamata Banerjee have filed a police complaint against rebels led by Ritabrata Banerjee, the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, alleging misuse of the party name and symbol.
On behalf of the leaders backing Ms. Banerjee, Trinamool MP Dola Sen has filed a complaint with the Kalighat and Newtown police stations in Kolkata. This grouping of leaders is also called the ‘Kalighat camp’ of the Trinamool.
In the complaint letter sent to the officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station, Ms. Sen, who is one of the national joint secretaries of the Trinamool, alleged that rebel MLAs Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha had called all the Trinamool councillors from Kolkata for a meeting on Saturday (June 27, 2026) afternoon, claiming to be the general secretaries of the party.
Ms. Sen alleged that such exercise is aimed at creating confusion among party workers, damaging the reputation and credibility of the party, misleading members into attending an unauthorised meeting and facilitating unlawful activities by misusing the party name.
On June 22, the Trinamool rebels, led by Mr. RItabrata, had organised a special session of the Trinamool at a hotel in Kolkata and set up a national working committee in the presence of several MLAs and former legislators of the party. The rebels removed Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee as chairperson and national general secretary of the party.
Both the factions — the Kalighat camp and rebels led by Mr. Ritabrata – have written to the Election Commission informing about the newly formed working committee and other organisational changes in the party.
Commenting on the police complaint, Mr. Ritabrata said, “Anyone can file a complaint. There are laws and the Election Commission in the country. Let’s trust in those laws and the Election Commission.”
After the Trinamool’s defeat in the West Bengal polls in May, several of its MPs and MLAs have rebelled against the leadership. About 65 of the 80 MLAs are supporting a camp led by Mr. Ritabrata, while 20 Lok Sabha MPs of the party, led by veterans such as Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, have formed a separate group and decided to merge with a little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
Published – June 28, 2026 02:37 pm IST
