Competing factions within the All India Trinamool Congress have been called to appear before the Election Commission on October 30 — a date that marks the body's first formal hearing with the groups since their access to the party symbol was withdrawn ahead of West Bengal bypolls, according to officials speaking on Friday.

More than a month elapsed between the Election Commission's interim order of 17 September — issued after representatives of both factions, one aligned with Mamata Banerjee and the other with Arup Roy, had been heard — and the present hearing, with that earlier order having concluded that the dispute warranted a substantive determination by the poll body under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

A directive from the EC barred the group from displaying the party name or its Flowers and Grass symbol throughout the West Bengal bypoll period. Fresh designations and electoral symbols were assigned to those candidates ahead of the bypoll contests.

Trinamool Congress joint secretary Derek O'Brien told reporters the party intended to attend the hearing, while also pointing to what he described as a pattern of repeated postponement requests from the opposing faction. Ritabrata Banerjee, who holds the Opposition Leader post in the West Bengal Assembly, indicated that his side would attend the hearing and voiced confidence in the strength of their position.

O'Brien noted that proceedings had been under way since July and asked why the electoral body had taken so long to act on the matter, adding that those he described as traitors had submitted their initial correspondence to the Election Commission as far back as 22 June. Both parties were directed by the EC to submit their responses no later than 6 July.

O'Brien, speaking to a news outlet, denied that this had occurred and went on to say that those involved had done nothing more than repeatedly request additional time. Those appeals to the EC amounted to nothing beyond requests for additional time, he noted.

The Rajya Sabha MP characterised the Election Commission's decision to extend the deadline by 70 days as unnecessary leniency toward opposing parties, while adding that his own side had met every filing requirement on time. He argued that a sequence of 14 dates undermined what he described as the group's assertions.

With demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continuing over disputed aspects of the Special Intensive Revision exercise as backdrop, O'Brien noted that a considerable amount could yet unfold before that point arrived. That gathering remains about a fortnight off.

Public discontent has been building in communities throughout the nation.

Ritabrata Banerjee told a reporter that his faction would attend the Election Commission hearing, describing the scheduled appearance as a standard procedural step and indicating that his group intended to present its position at that forum. He expressed a high degree of confidence on behalf of the group.

Competing factions within the AITC have brought their disputes over the party's leadership structure — including questions about who holds authorised signatory status — before the EC for adjudication.

Roots of the dispute trace to 22 June, when Ritabrata Banerjee — holding the position of Leader of Opposition — called together a group of dissenting party figures, at which point the establishment of a fresh national working committee was put forward and Arup Roy was chosen to head it. Pointing to Article 20 of the AITC constitution — which mandates that the national working committee be reconstituted on a three-year cycle — Ritabrata put forward the position that the party had entered a constitutional crisis.

The body established in February 2022 ran its full course by February 2025, he noted, and no extension or renewal was put in place after that point.

Trinamool Congress has put forward the position that the breakaway group is leaning on a clause that later amendments to the party's constitution have effectively superseded. Responding to the opposing faction's assertions about party composition, the AITC pointed out that public notices had been circulated throughout the organisational election process and that all MPs and MLAs had been enrolled as party members.

The party argued that the 22 June gathering lacked legitimacy because the layered procedural steps required to form its organisational committees had not been carried out.

Banerjee's faction has put forward the position that its gathering on 22 June followed the party's constitutional procedures, and that the question of which side holds legitimate standing rests with the Election Commission to determine.