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The battle over which faction represents the real Trinamool Congress is intensifying in West Bengal, with another showdown scheduled in Kolkata on August 28.
Since the May election results, a rebellion within the party has created two distinct factions in the state Assembly.
Both claim to be the legitimate inheritor of the party’s legacy, with the contest now extending from the Assembly to the streets.
The rebel group, reportedly backed by enough Trinamool MLAs, has secured recognition for its leader Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of Opposition.
The rivalry then moved to Kolkata’s streets on July 21, observed as Martyrs’ Day, which commemorates the 1993 police firing on Youth Congress activists led by Trinamool Congress founder-chairperson Mamata Banerjee.
The next contest will come on Friday during Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) Foundation Day, with both factions planning separate and grand celebrations.
Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat faction draws strength from her personal charisma and the party’s founding legacy. It maintains that Assembly numbers cannot erase the emotional and historical legitimacy associated with Mamata, whose political identity is closely tied to the party’s rise from protests against the Left Front to its 2011 victory.
Ritabrata Banerjee’s faction, meanwhile, has positioned itself as the pragmatic inheritor of Trinamool’s organisational machinery.
Close to 60 MLAs have reportedly backed him, while his recognition as Leader of Opposition has provided institutional legitimacy.
The faction has drawn support from leaders including Firhad Hakim, Madan Mitra, Anubrata Mondal and Javed Khan. It demonstrated its organisational strength by holding a parallel July 21 rally at Mayo Road, around three kilometres from Mamata’s gathering at Kolkata’s Birla Planetarium.
Student Wing Becomes Key Battleground
Friday’s TMCP events will be significant as control of the student wing is crucial for influence over college and university unions.
Both sides see it as a means to secure young activists and shape the narrative over the real Trinamool.
The contest resembles the Shiv Sena split in Maharashtra, where institutions ultimately determined the legitimate faction.
In West Bengal too, institutions could eventually settle the question of legitimacy rather than rallies or Assembly numbers.
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