Kolkata, June 23 (IANS) The Mamata Banerjee-aligned faction in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), furnishing details of what it claims is the party’s original national working committee.

The faction, describing itself as the “original but minority” group loyal to former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, asserted that its list represents the “real” national working committee, countering the parallel panel announced by the “rebel but majority” faction of TMC legislators in the West Bengal Assembly.

Sources said the communication was sent to the ECI on Monday night, shortly after the rebel faction led by opposition leader Ritabrata Banerjee unveiled a new national working committee excluding both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee.

In the list submitted by the Mamata Banerjee faction, she has been named national chairperson, Subrata Bakshi as national vice-president, and Abhishek Banerjee as general secretary.

The list also includes Rajya Sabha members Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen as joint secretaries, and former Rajya Sabha member Subhasish Chakraborty as treasurer.

Reacting to the move, Ritabrata Banerjee said he had no comments but wished the other faction well.

The rebel faction’s committee, announced on Monday evening, named senior legislator and former minister Arup Roy as chairperson in place of Mamata Banerjee. Former minister Aroop Biswas was appointed vice-chairman, along with MLAs Firhad Hakim and Rathin Ghosh as vice-chairmen.

Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, and Sabina Yasmin were named general secretaries, while Akhruzzaman was appointed treasurer.

The “original but minority” faction within Trinamool Congress, with continued allegiance to Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, sent the communique to the Election Commission of India (ECI) giving details of the party’s national working committee.

In its communique to the ECI, the “original but minority” faction claimed that the list of members of the party’s national working committee is the “real” one and not the new national working committee floated by the “rebel but majority faction” in Trinamool Congress’s legislative party in the West Bengal assembly on Monday.

–IANS

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