Kolkata/New Delhi: Ahead of back-to-back meetings with Election Commission on Saturday, Trinamool Congress’s Mamata Banerjee camp said it has “faith in the Constitution,” while the rebel bloc expressed “faith in Election Commission”.The commission has called representatives of both sides for separate meetings in New Delhi on Sept 12 over their competing claims to TMC’s organisational control, name, assets and election symbol.The Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel group has been given an appointment at 11 am, while the Mamata camp will meet the poll panel an hour later at India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in Dwarka.The hearing comes ahead of the Oct 6 assembly bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar, with the nomination process underway and the deadline for filing papers set for Sept 16. Both sides have announced that they will contest the bypolls.According to party seniors, EC — if it is unable to decide — can pause the process by freezing the Trinamool name and symbol, forcing both camps to contest using reserved symbols for independent candidates.Speaking to reporters before flying out to Delhi on Friday, Ritabrata said: “After our national working committee (NWC) meeting on June 22, we informed EC on June 23 regarding the election of the new office-bearers. We also met the full bench of EC. We have faith in Election Commission.”TMC MP and national secretary Dola Sen said: “Trinamool is Mamata Banerjee and Mamata Banerjee is Trinamool. There is no bigger truth than that.”Adding to this, TMC neta Saket Gokhale said: “The Tenth Schedule is cut and dry. There is a big difference between a parliamentary or legislative party and the parent political party.”“We think it’s an absolutely straightforward case. Mamata Banerjee, the founder chairperson of Trinamool, is Trinamool,” Gokhale emphasised. “In its wisdom, the Constitution has put four referees in charge — the Bengal assembly speaker, the Lok Sabha Speaker, the EC and the Supreme Court. We trust the Constitution,” he added.EC had on July 2 sought responses from both sides by July 6. The Mamata camp submitted its reply within the deadline, while the Ritabrata group sought more time. The commission first extended the deadline to July 10 and subsequently granted another extension till July 25.On July 12, Mamata wrote to EC stating that no communication from the Ritabrata group had been shared with Trinamool and requested that no further time be granted. On July 29, she wrote to the commission again, urging an expeditious conclusion to the inquiry.The dispute also saw rival claims over the validity of a “special session” held by the Ritabrata group. On Aug 25, TMC MLA Pirzada Siddique wrote to EC alleging serious irregularities in the proceedings. On Aug 30, Mamata placed Siddique’s letter before EC and sought a swift conclusion to the matter.The Ritabrata group has indicated its intention to contest the bypolls using the TMC name and symbol, while remaining prepared to run as independents if the dispute is not settled.Speaking to PTI, Gokhale said: “The meeting is happening on a Saturday — for the first time ever, not even at the main office — while the BRICS summit is ongoing. Is this purely a coincidence? The timing of the meeting looks totally devious. But since Election Commission is a high constitutional body, we will attend.”
