Archive · 2 Sep 2026
TMC Factions Turn West Bengal Assembly Gate Into Battleground
Two groups inside the Trinamool Congress are fighting over who should control the party.
They used the entrance of the West Bengal Assembly to speak to reporters and show their strength.
Riju Dutta spoke there for the group supporting Ritabrata Banerjee.
Five young leaders from Mamata Banerjee’s group then appeared at the same place.
Those leaders said they were not simply sent to answer Dutta.
The two groups disagree about who should be Leader of the Opposition and who has most lawmakers behind them.
They are also arguing over the party’s leadership, name and election symbol.
The public arguments are meant to influence lawmakers, party workers and voters.
Rival TMC factions publicly competed for attention outside the West Bengal Assembly in Kolkata.
Five young leaders from the Mamata Banerjee-led camp appeared after Riju Dutta’s media briefings.
The dissident faction, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, says it has majority support among TMC legislators.
Sixty-five of the party’s 80 legislators backed Ritabrata Banerjee’s claim to become Leader of the Opposition.
The wider dispute includes parallel leadership structures, rival claims over the party’s name and symbol, and conflicting political alignments.
- Who
- The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC camp and the dissident faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee, including spokesperson Riju Dutta.
- What
- The rival factions competed for political visibility outside the West Bengal Assembly while disputing party control and the Leader of the Opposition post.
- When
- The confrontation took place over two days, culminating on Wednesday, September 2.
- Where
- Outside the main gate of the West Bengal Assembly in Kolkata, West Bengal.
- Why
- Each faction sought to demonstrate political strength and influence legislators, party workers, journalists and voters amid a wider organisational dispute.
Mamata Banerjee-led camp
Ritabrata Banerjee-led dissident camp
Reason for the five leaders’ appearance
Mamata Banerjee-led camp
The five leaders said they were established organisational workers and rejected the suggestion that they were brought in merely to counter Riju Dutta.
Ritabrata Banerjee-led dissident camp
Sources said the group’s appearance was a counter-move after Dutta had held media interactions outside the Assembly for two days.
Leader of the Opposition claim
Mamata Banerjee-led camp
The Mamata-led camp describes Ritabrata Banerjee as an interim Leader of the Opposition and cites an order from a Calcutta High Court division bench.
Ritabrata Banerjee-led dissident camp
The dissident camp says it has majority support and points to the 65 MLAs who backed Ritabrata Banerjee’s claim.
Control of the party
Mamata Banerjee-led camp
The Mamata-led leadership continues to assert its organisational position and political presence, including through its representatives at the Assembly gate.
Ritabrata Banerjee-led dissident camp
The dissidents convened a special session, elected Arup Roy chairperson and announced a parallel national leadership structure, arguing that the existing leadership had lost the confidence of most elected representatives.
- Main location
- West Bengal Assembly gate, Kolkata
- Mamata camp representatives
- Upasana Choudhury, Priyanka Adhikari, Mrityunjay Pal, Arka Nag and Arnab Banerjee
- Dissident spokesperson
- Riju Dutta
- TMC legislative group
- 80 members
- Support for Ritabrata’s claim
- 65 MLAs backed his claim to the Leader of the Opposition post
- Parallel structure
- The dissidents elected Arup Roy chairperson at a special session and announced a parallel national leadership structure
- Wider political shift
- Twenty TMC Lok Sabha MPs aligned with NCPI and joined the BJP-led NDA
- Legal and organisational dispute
- The factions are pursuing rival claims over the party’s name and grass-and-flower election symbol before the Election Commission