The ECI also enclosed copies of documents submitted by the Ritabrata Banerjee faction, the sources said. These included a letter dated 11 September from Ritabrata Banerjee, an email dated 12 September containing orders of a court in Kolkata’s Alipore, a letter dated 12 September from party leader Chandrima Bhattacharya and a newspaper clipping published on 5 June.
The Mamata Banerjee camp had already submitted some additional documents to the ECI on Sunday and would make further submissions within the time granted by the poll panel, the sources said.
The documents included details of the party’s organisational history, including its organisational processes in 2015, 2017 and 2026, as well as a receiving copy pertaining to the latest submissions, they added. The TMC has consistently maintained that its organisational structure is valid and that the rebel faction has failed to establish its claim over the party organisation.
The two sides appeared before the full commission on Saturday over competing claims concerning the party’s organisational structure and authorised signatories.
A five-member delegation comprising Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, Sagarika Ghose, Saket Gokhale and advocate Abhinav Singh represented the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC before the commission.
The party argued that there was no genuine organisational dispute and pointed to its practice of holding organisational elections every five years. It cited Rule 9(a) of the 2010 version of the party constitution available with the EC, which states that the term of every TMC committee and its office-bearers, as well as the executive committee and its members, shall ordinarily be five years.
The Mamata Banerjee camp also pointed out that several MLAs supporting the rival claim had contested this year’s West Bengal Assembly polls on TMC tickets.
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