In a fresh twist to internal discord within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), BJP leader Amit Malviya on Monday released screenshots of a fiery WhatsApp exchange allegedly between senior TMC MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad. The spat, reportedly from the party’s official group chat for parliamentarians, reveals cracks in the party's facade as it gears up for a high-stakes political season.

According to Malviya, the virtual brawl was an extension of a public confrontation that took place just days earlier at the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi. On Friday, a TMC delegation had visited the EC office to protest the alleged push for Aadhaar-EPIC (voter ID) linkage, which they claimed was being pursued without addressing fraudulent entries in the voter list.

“The party had apparently instructed its MPs to assemble at the Parliament office to sign a memorandum before heading to the EC,” Malviya wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “However, the MP carrying the document bypassed the Parliament meeting and went straight to the Election Commission.”

This procedural deviation allegedly led to a dramatic scene at the EC premises, with two MPs getting into a shouting match that drew the attention of security personnel. “A heated exchange ensued, with both shouting at each other to the extent that one of them asked the police personnel present to intervene,” Malviya claimed.

The matter reportedly escalated to TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is said to have instructed both parliamentarians to stand down and resolve the issue internally. But the dispute didn’t die there.

Malviya claims the altercation resurfaced in the TMC’s official WhatsApp group ‘AITC MP 2024’. In leaked screenshots, Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad appear to trade barbs over the mishandling of party strategy and protocol. A video shared by Malviya also shows a visibly agitated Kalyan Banerjee confronting another party MP in the EC office corridor.

In the aftermath of the clash, one of the involved MPs, a senior woman leader, has reportedly exited the party’s parliamentary WhatsApp group, citing her colleague’s “unacceptable behavior” as the reason for her departure.

While the TMC leadership has so far refrained from commenting officially on the incident, the episode has triggered speculation about growing unrest and miscommunication within the party’s parliamentary ranks.

For the BJP, the timing of the controversy is significant. “This is not just a communication breakdown. It exposes the deeper dysfunction in TMC’s approach to serious issues like voter identity fraud,” Malviya said.