Why are rival groups of Trinamool Congress laying claim over party funds | Explained
After the defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls 2026, the rival factions of Trinamool Congress are not only competing to get every leader by
After the defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls 2026, the rival factions of Trinamool Congress are not only competing to get every leader by their side and fighting for the party symbol, but they are also trying to get control over the party’s funds. Over the past few weeks, West Bengal has witnessed two factions of Trinamool Congress — one led by Mamata Banerjee and another by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee — approaching banks, police and courts, trying to get access to the funds. While the Ritabrata Banerjee faction has sought that funds in Trinamool Congress accounts be frozen, the Mamata Banerjee loyalists have said that rebels can have no control over party funds. How rich is the Trinamool Congress? Trinamool Congress is one the richest political parties in the country with hundreds of crores lying in its bank accounts. In the 2023-24 financial year, the Trinamool Congress earned ₹646.293 crore. For the 2024-25 fiscal year, the Trinamool Congress had declared ₹ 219.3538 crore as total earnings in its income-tax returns filed on October 13, 2025. A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) published on May 27, 2026, pointed out that the Trinamool Congress ranks second after Telugu Desam Party as the highest earners among 36 regional parties analysed by ADR. Till February 2024, when the Supreme Court announced electoral bonds as unconstitutional, Ms. Banerjee’s party had encashed ₹ 1,609.5 crore between April 2019 and January 2024, the second-largest recipient among all political parties.
When did the dispute start? On June 3, about 58 MLAs of Trinamool Congress decided to part ways with Ms. Banerjee and supported Mr. Banerjee, who was elected Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. Within a couple of weeks, about 10 MLAs from the Ritabrata Banerjee camp lodged a police complaint with Bidhannagar City Police alleging misuse of funds in Trinamool Congress bank accounts. Minister Aroop Biswas, who was treasurer to the Trinamool Congress, also wrote to the banks flagging the split in the party’s Parliamentary and legislative wings and demanding a halt to all financial transactions in its account. Mr. Biswas, a Mamata Banerjee loyalist, was trying to warm up to the rebel camp by asking banks to freeze the accounts. The Bidhannagar City police, under whose jurisdiction the private bank operated, was directed to freeze the accounts. Funds worth ₹440 crore were frozen in the three bank accounts. The Mamata Banerjee faction approached the Calcutta High Court. The Calcutta High Court on July 9, 2026 permitted the Trinamool Congress to operate three bank accounts, which had been frozen following a police complaint alleging fund diversion. Justice Sougata Bhattacharya appointed retired judge Justice Subrata Talukdar as special officer to supervise the accounts till September 30. ED alleges money laundering through Trinamool accounts Despite a de-freezing order by the Calcutta High Court, the Trinamool Congress has not been able to operate the accounts because the Enforcement Directorate in a separate order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act froze the three bank accounts of the party.
The BriefWire