Kolkata, June 23 (IANS) The “rebel but majority” faction within the Trinamool Congress legislative party in the West Bengal assembly, led by expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, will approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) immediately after the ongoing budget session of the assembly.

They will stake the legitimacy of the party’s new national working committee (NWC), formed by them, excluding former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, the party’s general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Immediately after the formation of the new NWC was announced on Monday afternoon by Ritabrata Banerjee, the “original but minority” faction in Trinamool with continued allegiance towards Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee forwarded a communique to the ECI, furnishing details of what it claimed was the party’s original NWC, with Mamata Banerjee as national chairperson and Abhishek Banerjee as general secretary.

A legislator from the “rebel but majority” camp said they would also move the ECI soon after the budget session, staking the legitimacy of the NWC formed with majority support within the party.

“The resolution of the meeting on Monday, where the new NWC was formed with majority support, has the genuine signatures of all leaders present. This resolution copy is a legal document, and on the basis of that, we will be claiming legitimacy of the new NWC,” the legislator said.

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.

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

–IANS

src/dan