New Delhi [India], July 2 : West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee on Thursday said his faction has placed its submissions before the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the party's organisational changes and expressed hope that the poll body would respond soon.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with the Election Commission, Banerjee, a rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, said that his faction had already submitted its representations both in Kolkata and New Delhi.
"All India Trinamool Congress had a special session on 22nd June. Immediately after the session, we formally gave in writing to the Election Commission of India and physically met the ECI in Kolkata; at the time we had sought an appointment at the Election Commission of India. The CEC and other Election Commissioners gave us a patient hearing. We made our points. We are hopeful that the ECI will get back to us shortly," Banerjee said.
Asserting that his faction represented the majority within the party, Banerjee claimed, "We are TMC as we have over 2/3rd majority. The majority of MLAs, councillors, and zila parishad members are with us."
A 10-member delegation led by Banerjee reached the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi earlier in the day for discussions over the ongoing organisational dispute within the Trinamool Congress.
According to Banerjee, the All India Trinamool Congress held a delegate session in Kolkata on June 22, during which the faction elected a new chairperson and deputy chairperson and constituted a new National Working Committee (NWC). He said the details of these organisational changes had been formally submitted to the Election Commission.
The meeting assumes significance as rival factions within the Trinamool Congress continue to stake competing claims over the party's leadership and organisational structure following the split in the aftermath of the West Bengal Assembly elections.
The political crisis within the party deepened after 58 of the TMC's 80 MLAs broke away from the Mamata Banerjee-led leadership following the Assembly poll defeat. The rebel legislators subsequently backed Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and announced a new 30-member National Working Committee.