Kolkata, July 3 (IANS) The ongoing tension between two rival camps in Trinamool Congress’s legislative party in the West Bengal Assembly escalated further on Friday with the “rebel but majority” faction led by expelled party legislator Ritabrata Banerjee taking control of Trinamool Congress’s main party office at Metropolitan on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the city this evening.

A team of legislators from the party’s “rebel but majority” faction led by Ritabrata, currently the official Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, arrived at the said party office and hoisted a banner at the entrance which displayed the name of veteran party MLA Arup Roy as the chairperson of the party.

The other heavyweight MLAs from the “rebel but majority” faction who accompanied Ritabrata included former Kolkata Mayor and West Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim, former state minister Javed Ahmed Khan, current Chief Whip of Trinamool Congress’s legislative party in the Assembly Akhruzzaman and Sandipan Saha, among others.

The development takes place just a day after a ten-member delegation of the “rebel but majority” faction met the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and argued their points, staking claim on the party name and election symbol.

After staying there for some time and also holding an internal party meeting at the party office, the group of MLAs from the “rebel but majority” faction left the party office, but after locking the main entrance gate.

Soon after that, Kunal Ghosh, a prominent face from the “original but minority” faction of party MLAs with continued allegiance towards former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, turned up in front of the same party office claiming that he would break open the lock at the entrance gate.

At the time the report was filed, Ghosh and some of his associates were waiting in front of the party office, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Beliaghata Assembly constituency, where Ghosh is the party legislator.

–IANS

src/dan