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NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra heaping praise on Suvendu Adhikari, who is her party chief Mamata Banerjee‘s arch nemesis, has raised eyebrows as the mass exodus of leaders from the “sinking” TMC continues to shape West Bengal politics.Mahua’s “Suvendu supported me a lot” remark triggered a buzz in political circles as some of Mamata’s loyalists, feeling “blue”, have ditched the party ever since Bengal witnessed a landmark political shift, with the BJP bulldozing the once-dominant TMC in the country’s key non-Hindi-speaking state.“My personal relationship with Suvendu was very good. When we were in the same party (TMC) together, he supported me a lot. When I contested from Karimpur for the first time, no one came to campaign for me. Even today, you can see all the photos of him with us,” Mahua Moitra said in an interview.She further said: “In 2014, I was supposed to get a Lok Sabha ticket, but it didn’t happen, and I cried all night. It was Suvendu who supported me. Later, he joined the BJP, and we don’t speak anymore because he is in a different political party. But no one can forget our personal relationship.”Her remark spread like wildfire as she is considered one of the most firebrand leaders in Didi’s party and has incessantly been breathing down the BJP’s neck on the range of issues.However, as the statement began caching the eyeballs on the internet, she was quick to scorch the speculation, saying the chunk of an interview was ” cherry picked” and that Suvendu was “no angel”. “Yes it is cherry picked pls listen to the full interview. Suvendu is no angel but he had the guts to leave & fight on their ticket unlike these traitors. And i had a good relationship with him while he was in our party but have never spoken to him since he left . Why make these comments without listening to the full interview?” she wrote in a reply to a user on X.Amid the cloud suspicions and test of loyalties, the battle for control of the TMC reached the Election Commission (EC) on Monday, with both the Mamata Banerjee camp and the rival Ritabrata Banerjee faction submitting separate lists of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) in support of their respective claims.In a communication to the EC, Mamata Banerjee outlined the party’s organisational structure “as on June 20, 2026”, which her supporters described as the officially recognised hierarchy of the Trinamool Congress.The list identifies Mamata Banerjee as the party’s chairperson, Subrata Bakshi as vice-president, and Abhishek Banerjee as national general secretary and leader of the party in the Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen, along with treasurer Subhasish Chakraborty, were also named as members of the NWC.The dissident faction, however, submitted a separate list to the poll body, naming four-time Howrah MLA Arup Ray as chairperson in place of Mamata Banerjee.The rebel group has argued that under Article 20 of the party constitution, a National Working Committee must be reconstituted at least once every three years. According to the faction, the last NWC was formed on February 12, 2022, and its term expired on February 11, 2025.Rejecting that contention, a senior Trinamool MP said the party’s official records already establish the legitimacy of the existing committee.“The EC website has the NWC list submitted in 2024. Also, the Trinamool constitution, also uploaded on the EC website, clearly spells out the role and function of the chairperson, and that she can never be replaced,” the MP said.
