In a dramatic escalation of the ongoing power struggle within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee took control of the party’s organisational headquarters at the Metropolitan building on EM Bypass in Kolkata on Friday.
Senior leaders including Firhad Hakim, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, and Akhruzzaman accompanied Ritabrata Banerjee as they arrived at the office at the rented building in the evening, held a meeting inside, and asserted that their group represented the “real” Trinamool Congress. They hung new banners outside the premises, featuring portraits of Mamata Banerjee alongside one prominently mentioning Arup Roy as the party chairman.
After the meeting, the rebel leaders locked the office and left, with Akhruzzaman declaring to reporters, “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 emphasised continuity, stating that Mamata Banerjee remained their chief advisor and that the presence of her photograph in the office underscored their legitimacy. Ritabrata Banerjee also described it as “our party office” and noted that further details of the meeting would be revealed in due course.
Shortly after the rebels left and locked the office, leaders from the Mamata faction, including Kunal Ghosh, arrived at the scene, leading to a tense situation in the evening.
This development intensifies the bitter battle between the Ritabrata faction and the camp loyal to Mamata Banerjee, which erupted following the party’s electoral setbacks. The dissidents, who claim the support of a majority of MLAs, had earlier removed Mamata Banerjee as chairperson in a special session and elected Arup Roy in her place. The Mamata camp has rejected these actions as unconstitutional.
Rebel AITC camp of MLAs take over TMC’s party office in Kolkata. pic.twitter.com/igr6uIklip
— Abir Ghoshal (@abirghoshal) July 3, 2026
The move comes a day after the Ritabrata-led delegation met the full bench of the Election Commission in New Delhi, where they staked claim to the party’s name, symbol, and organisational structure. The EC has asked both factions to submit their claims and counter-claims by 5:30 pm on 6 July.
The Metropolitan office has served as the TMC’s functional headquarters since 2022, after the original EM Bypass building was taken up for reconstruction. The rebel faction claimed they had reached an agreement with the property owners to operate from the premises, amid allegations from the owner regarding unpaid rent and expired agreements with the previous setup.
Notably, after the election results, the owner of the building, Montu Saha, had asked the party to vacate the premises within the two months, citing security concerns amid fears of post-poll violence. The party leadership at that time had assured that they will vacate the premises. However, now that the party leadership has changed, the situation may change.
TMC had rented the building to use as its temporary headquarters in 2022 after the party decided to demolish and rebuild its head office at Topsia after winning the 2021 assembly elections. Originally Saha’s building was leased for 2 years, which was extended as construction of the permanent party office was not completed.
