We get party symbol, they lose membership: Rebel TMC MLA to Mamata camp

Rebel TMC MLA Akhruzzaman Ansari said the faction would pursue the matter through legal channels once it establishes its claim over the party symbol.

Rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders have escalated their confrontation with the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, warning that if their camp secures the party’s name and "grassroots" symbol from the Election Commission of India (ECI), they will seek cancellation of the rival MLAs’ Assembly membership.

Rebel MLA Akhruzzaman Ansari said the faction would pursue the matter through legal channels once it establishes its claim over the party symbol.

"I assure you, the day we secure the symbol, I will come here and announce that we will move to have their memberships cancelled. You will see that, through legal channels, the true Trinamool Congress and its symbol will be ours," he said.

The remarks came a day after the West Bengal Assembly Secretariat issued notices to 10 MLAs belonging to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel TMC faction, seeking their responses to an anti-defection petition filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led camp. The legislators have been given seven days to respond.

The notices were issued to Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Sabina Yasmin, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan, Rathin Ghosh, Sandipan Saha, Akhruzzaman Ansari and Shiuli Saha.

The petition seeking their disqualification was moved by senior TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who has also challenged Ritabrata Banerjee’s recognition as Leader of Opposition before the Calcutta High Court.

Responding to the notices, rebel faction MLA Sandipan Saha said the group remained confident that the ECI would recognise it as the legitimate TMC.

"Just wait a little. The Chief Opposition Whip will issue a directive, and every Trinamool Congress MLA will have to abide by it," he said, warning that those issuing disqualification notices could themselves face similar proceedings.

Saha dismissed the notices as lacking substance and said the rebel legislators had not engaged in anti-party activity.

"We are Trinamool Congress; we are the Trinamool Congress," he said, adding that the faction expected this position to be formally established soon.

On the dispute over the party’s identity and symbol, Saha said the matter was for the ECI to decide.

"Regarding the dispute—this is a decision for the ECI; the Commission is looking into the matter, and it would not be appropriate to comment on it right now," he said.

He added that the faction had submitted the necessary documents to the Commission and was taking steps to run the organisation according to its rules.

The dispute over the TMC’s organisational control has now spread across the Assembly, courts and the ECI.

The rebel camp has claimed majority support among the party’s MLAs and has conducted a parallel organisational exercise, while the Mamata Banerjee-led faction has sought disqualification of the rebel legislators under the anti-defection law.

With the ECI yet to decide which faction will retain the TMC name and twin-flower-on-grass symbol, both sides are preparing for further legal and political battles.

The Assembly’s proceedings on the disqualification petitions and the Commission’s decision on the party symbol are expected to shape the next phase of the political confrontation.