The leadership dispute within the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) took a dramatic turn on Friday after the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee assumed control of the party's headquarters in Kolkata's Metropolitan area, declaring it the official office of the organisation under its leadership.

Accompanied by several party legislators, including Firhad Hakim, Sandipan Saha, Javed Khan and treasurer Akruzzaman, members of the rebel camp entered the premises, replaced the locks on the entrance gates, installed fresh posters and convened a meeting inside the building.

Following the takeover, the dissident group announced that all future organisational activities would be conducted from the office. Speaking to reporters, Akruzzaman said the premises held deep significance for the party and confirmed that the formal agreement relating to the building had been completed, allowing the faction to begin functioning from there.

The rebels also placed new signage at the entrance identifying senior MLA Arup Roy as the chairman of the All India Trinamool Congress. However, photographs and cut-outs of Mamata Banerjee displayed inside the premises were left untouched.

Ritabrata Banerjee said the faction would officially begin operating from the headquarters from Saturday, maintaining that his group represented the legitimate Trinamool Congress.

The building has served as the party's central office since 2022, when the Trinamool shifted its operations there during the renovation of its original headquarters.

The development came shortly after Banerjee and other leaders from the rebel camp met the full bench of the Election Commission in New Delhi. During the meeting, they reportedly presented their claim over the party's official identity, election symbol, organisational structure and control of its assets.

Following the discussions, the Election Commission asked both rival factions to submit supporting documents and responses regarding organisational elections, authorised office-bearers and control of the party by the evening of July 6.

Soon after reports of the office takeover emerged, legislators aligned with Mamata Banerjee reached the headquarters but were unable to enter because the gates had been locked.

Senior Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh criticised the incident, describing it as unfortunate. He said every party MLA should have unrestricted access to the office and questioned the decision to lock the premises. Ghosh also accused the dissident leaders of neglecting party workers and acting under external influence.

The faction loyal to Mamata Banerjee further alleged that the takeover had been carried out with the silent support of the state administration and police. The rebel camp dismissed the allegation.

The political confrontation has intensified in recent weeks. Last month, the dissident leaders convened a special session in which Arup Roy was elected chairperson and a parallel national leadership structure was announced.

Earlier, 58 of the party's 80 MLAs had backed Ritabrata Banerjee's claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly instead of the candidate endorsed by the official leadership. The rebel faction now claims that its strength has increased to around 65 legislators.

The split has also extended to Parliament. According to the rebel camp, 20 of the Trinamool's 28 Lok Sabha MPs have broken away, joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), and aligned themselves with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Several senior leaders have also distanced themselves from the Mamata Banerjee-led faction.

Apart from the leadership battle, both camps continue to stake claim over the Trinamool Congress name, election symbol, finances and organisational assets, with the Election Commission expected to play a key role in resolving the dispute.