ECI summons both Trinamool factions for hearing on September 17

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has summoned both factions of the Trinamool Congress – one led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the other by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ritabrata Banerjee – for another hearing on Thursday (September 17, 2026).

The ECI met the two factions on Saturday (September 12, 2026) over their contention over the party’s name and symbol. The survey authority requested additional documents from the Ritabrata faction. Mr. Ritabrata claims the support of nearly 65 of the 80 Trinamool MLAs in the 294-member assembly.

In separate letters dated September 16 to the two factions, the polling body asked the Ritabrata team to reach the EC headquarters in Delhi at 3 pm and the Mamata-led grouping at 4 pm.

It will be eliminated soon

The meetings come ahead of the October 6 assembly polls in Nandigram and Rejinagar, for which the nomination process was closed on Wednesday (September 16, 2026). Both factions have fielded candidates for the upcoming elections.

Taking precedence in the Shiv Sena case, sources said the EC is likely to temporarily freeze the party symbol.

Sources told The Hindu that the Ritabrata faction gave details of the anomalies in the Mamata faction’s documents in a meeting with the ECI on Saturday (September 12, 2026). These specifically related to the June 5 meeting of the Trinamool Working Committee in which Ms. Banerjee replaced many officials.

After the meeting, the Mamata faction made it very clear that there was “no dispute”. “On one side is the party led by Mamata Banerjee and on the other is a bunch of traitors. These are the same MLAs who fought the elections on a Trinamool ticket five months ago. All these MLAs received ₹25 lakh in their bank accounts from the party to contest the elections,” they said.

Published – 16 Sep 2026 23:01 IST