Mamata Banerjee Or Arup Roy? Who Heads 'Real TMC' | Decoding Conundrum With EC's 2023 Judgement In Shiv Sena Case

TMC Crisis: Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC), which was defeated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in recent concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, has been witnessing the same script that changed the political equation in Maharashtra three years ago. The TMC saw a split like Shiv Sena in 2023. The Election Commission of India (EC) had given the judgment in favour of the Eknath Shinde-led camp. Now, the TMC issue has also reached the EC.

Mamata's Camp Approach EC

On Tuesday, the TMC sent a fresh list of its office bearers and national working committee members to the EC, asserting that Mamata Banerjee continues to head the party. Sources said that the list submitted to the EC mentions the party's organisational structure "as on June 20, 2026," placing on record its official hierarchy amid competing claims over control of the party.

ALSO READ: TMC Crisis: Arup Roy Named Chairperson Of 'Real Trinamool' By Rebel MLAs; New Working Committees Announced

Rebel Camp Appoints Arup Roy TMC Chief To Replace Mamata

Earlier on Monday, the rebel faction of the TMC held a special session in Kolkata and announced a parallel organisational structure, including the election of senior MLA Arup Roy as party chairperson, directly challenging the authority of Mamata.

Rebel Group Says TMC Working Committee 2022 Not Valid

The faction led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee claimed the move was necessitated by what it described as a "constitutional crisis" in the party, arguing that the tenure of the last national working committee, constituted in February 2022, had expired. The rebel faction has claimed support from a large number of legislators (around 60 of 80 MLAs), while the Mamata camp has maintained that the dissidents have no organisational legitimacy.

ALSO READ: TMC Crisis: Lok Sabha Speaker Calls Abhishek Banerjee For Discussion On June 19 Over Rebel MPs Row

What Were The Yardsticks Used By EC In The Shiv Sena Case

- The February 2023 EC judgement in the Shiv Sena case, which passed the Supreme Court hurdle, may guide the TMC dispute.

- The Election Commission had recognised Eknath Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena and allotted the 'bow and arrow' poll symbol to it in 2023, citing a majority.

- The constitution of political parties ought to provide for free, fair and transparent elections to the posts of office bearers and a further free and fair procedure for the resolution of internal disputes, EC said in the judgement.

- Any amendment in the party's constitution should be carried out only after ensuring the larger support of the organisational members for the same, it added.

- The Constitution of Shiv Sena, amended in 2018, was not given to ECI, so the poll body did not consider it.

- 40 MLAs backing Shinde got nearly 76 per cent of the votes polled in favour of the 55 winning Shiv Sena candidates in the 2019 assembly elections, while Uddhav Thackeray's camp legislators got 23.5 per cent of the votes, the poll body highlighted.

- The EC applied the tests under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 (Para 15), considering the Legislative Majority Test.

Meanwhile, in the TMC case, the majority of the MLAs supported Arup Roy, which means the road ahead for Mamata is not easy. However, the final decision is subject to the discretion of the EC.
(With agencies inputs)