A group of 19 TMC MPs are all set to ask the Speaker to recognise their faction as the real party. If this happens, Mamata Banerjee might find herself out of the party she founded. This has also raised questions about who will get the party’s ₹220 crore assets.
After losing its ground in the state, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing a massive rebellion. A group of 19 Lok Sabha MPs are now ready to meet Speaker Om Birla on Monday. They will request him to recognise their faction as the real TMC. If the Speaker agrees, it’s almost certain that Mamata Banerjee will be out of the very party she founded 28 years ago.
Jagadish Chandra Barma, an MP from the rebel group, spoke on the matter. He said, ‘We have already submitted a letter. On Monday, we will go to the Speaker and stake our claim to form the real TMC parliamentary group. We will request him to grant us recognition.’ He also confirmed that they have collected signatures from all 19 MPs. Since their number exceeds two-thirds of the party’s MPs, they have a strong chance of being recognised. Reports suggest that Kakoli Ghosh will lead this new faction.
On the other side, MP Shatabdi Roy said, ‘Mamata Banerjee has not contacted us. She only has about 6-7 MPs with her now.’
So far, the rebel MPs have not openly said they will expel Mamata from the party. But if the Speaker recognises their faction, Mamata might have to go to court. If she loses there, the rebel group could either throw her out, or she might just leave the party on her own.
FIR filed against former CM Mamata for communal statement
An FIR has been filed against former Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for allegedly making a provocative and communal statement during the assembly election campaign in March. At an election rally in Dharmatala, she had allegedly said that if a particular community attacked Hindus, the Hindus could be ‘finished in 5 minutes’. A businessman filed a complaint against her, stating that this remark disturbs social peace and communal harmony. Based on this complaint, the Hare Street police have now filed an FIR.
If the party splits, who gets the ₹220 crore?
TMC, which grew into a powerful party and ruled West Bengal for 15 years, is now on the verge of a split. This raises a big question: which faction will be considered the ‘real’ TMC, and who will get control of its massive assets?
In its income tax returns filed in 2025, the TMC declared its income for 2024-25 as ₹219.35 crore. This included ₹184.08 crore from donations and ₹33.685 crore from FD interest. Before the electoral bonds were cancelled, TMC had collected ₹1,609.5 crore through them between 2019 and 2024. While the earnings for 2025-26 are not yet declared, an ADR report had stated that among 36 regional parties in the country, TMC has the highest assets after TDP.
Earlier, Ritobrata Banerjee, who had rebelled with 56 MLAs, was declared the Leader of the Opposition. If the party officially splits into two, the Election Commission will give the ‘two flowers’ symbol to one faction. That faction will then get control of all the party’s assets. If the rebel faction is recognised as the real TMC and it later merges with the BJP, all of TMC’s funds could go to the BJP.
Fire at Bengal building with 4000 EVMs; probe ordered
Amidst all the political drama in West Bengal after the recent assembly elections, a fire broke out on Wednesday in a building where 4,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were stored. It is understood that these EVMs contained votes from 10 constituencies. The fire, which took 24 hours to put out, has raised many questions. The Kolkata Police has now formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the incident.
Minister Kaushik Choudhary, giving information on the incident, questioned, ‘This does not look like a natural fire. How did the fire, which first appeared on the 2nd and 3rd floors, reach the 7th and 8th floors without damaging the middle floors?’