On Tuesday, June 9, a CID team arrived at the central party office and residence of Mamata Banerjee in Kalighat as part of the inquiry into the alleged forged signatures of MLAs. Accompanied by officials from Kalighat Police Station and female police personnel, the team reached the premises located at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street.
The CID’s actions followed a request for details concerning purportedly forged signatures of TMC legislators on a proposal presented to the Assembly Speaker for the acknowledgment of the Leader of Opposition (LoP). CID officials indicated that the search stemmed from a response given by TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who stated that MLA signatures were collected at the party’s central office.
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However, the investigative team was denied entry into the premises, prompting a brief standoff with the office management. TMC leader Subhasish Chakraborty expressed the party’s objection to the search in the absence of Abhishek Banerjee, stating that they would permit it once he was present.
The dispute ignited after it was revealed that the proposal for appointing senior TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as LoP allegedly contained forged signatures from several legislators. This led to the filing of an FIR and the initiation of a CID investigation.
The crisis deepened when 58 of TMC’s 80 MLAs expressed support for expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee for the LoP position instead of the party’s designated candidate. The dissenting faction subsequently assumed leadership of the legislature party, elected Ritabrata Banerjee as LoP, and gained recognition from the Assembly Speaker.
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What we know so far
In the wake of the internal dissent, Mamata Banerjee met with senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi at her residence on 10 Janpath following an INDIA bloc meeting that emphasized unity and improved coordination among coalition partners. The two leaders discussed future collaboration between Congress and TMC after the party’s defeat in the Bengal elections and the subsequent developments involving alleged assaults on party workers and Abhishek Banerjee.
The gathering took place as several TMC MPs opted to establish a separate faction and align with the NDA, while a significant number of TMC’s MLAs have already pledged their support to the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Jun 9, 2026 5:32 PM IST
