The War Over The War Chest: Who Controls Trinamool’s Rs 600 Crore Fortune?
The War Over The War Chest: Who Controls Trinamool’s Rs 600 Crore Fortune? Reported By, Last Updated: June 20, 2026, 08:23 IST The ECI can
The War Over The War Chest: Who Controls Trinamool’s Rs 600 Crore Fortune? Reported By, Last Updated: June 20, 2026, 08:23 IST The ECI can decide who gets Trinamool’s name and symbol, but control of its bank accounts and properties may ultimately rest with banks and civil courts. Rapid Read For the Trinamool Congress, the Shiv Sena precedent creates a highly complicated tactical landscape. (Image: PTI) A full-blown war has now erupted over the Trinamool Congress’s massive party fund, estimated at around Rs 600 crore. What began as an internal political rebellion has rapidly transformed into a bitter battle over control of the party’s financial resources. The turning point came early last week, when former Trinamool Congress treasurer Aroop Biswas sent a formal letter to HDFC Bank demanding an immediate freeze on all official party accounts, arguing that access to the funds could become contentious amid the ongoing power struggle. However, the June 12 communication proved to be a devastating pre-emptive strike. Shortly thereafter, a complaint was lodged by a rebel Trinamool MLA, escalating the dispute beyond party corridors and into the administrative and legal arena. The controversy has now drawn in state authorities, with the Bengal Police reportedly asking the private bank to freeze three accounts holding approximately Rs 440 crore, effectively locking down a substantial portion of the party’s financial assets.
What was initially framed as a battle over leadership, political legitimacy and the party symbol has increasingly taken on the character of a corporate-style governance dispute centred on account control, signatory authority and access to vast financial reserves. The freezing of the accounts has created a high-stakes legal and political gridlock, raising fundamental questions about who legitimately controls one of India’s wealthiest regional party war chests. The political fault lines are starkly drawn. A powerful rebel bloc comprising 20 of the party’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs, led by four-time parliamentarian Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, has broken ranks, alongside 58 MLAs. Even as Mamata Banerjee’s loyalist faction of the Trinamool Congress prepares to fight the situation legally, its enormous war chest now appears to be at stake. Official Election Commission of India (ECI) disclosures reveal that the party holds Rs 676.11 crore in liquid balances, a figure that surges well past Rs 1,000 crore when physical properties and regional real estate are factored in. A Legal Vacuum Around Party Cash? The legal precedent for navigating such high-profile political divorces is firmly anchored in the landmark 1972 Sadiq Ali judgment. The ECI relies strictly on numerical superiority across the legislative and organisational wings to decide who inherits the party name and symbol.
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