After a bloc within Tata Trusts reportedly voted against his reappointment as nominee director on the board of Tata Sons, Vijay Singh, a trustee and vice-chairman of Tata Trusts, said that putting any issue to vote was “unprecedented” within the organisation and went against the late Ratan Tata’s insistence on “consensus and unanimity” in decision-making.Responding to queries from The Indian Express, Singh said, “The idea of voting on any matter in Tata Trusts is unprecedented. Ratan Tata was very firm that there should always be consensus and unanimity on issues… and perhaps we are now in a different era.”The vote, which was held recently, brought to light a simmering power struggle within the $180-billion Tata Group, with a bloc of four trustees in Tata Trusts led by M Pallonji director Mehli Mistry reportedly opposing Singh’s reappointment to Tata Sons, the group’s principal holding company.The vote against Singh marked a rare and public sign of division within India’s most venerated corporate house. Tata Trusts collectively hold 66 per cent of Tata Sons, making them the most powerful shareholder in the conglomerate.Explained | Unease in Bombay House, amid internal wrangling within the Tata group yet againAccording to Singh, he did not attend the meeting in which the vote took place. “Since I wasn’t there, the question of my voting for or against anyone doesn’t arise. As is common knowledge now, four trustees did vote against my continuance on the Tata Sons board for reasons that were apparently not spelt out,” he said.A former Defence Secretary from the 1970 batch of the IAS, Singh joined Tata Trusts in 2018 on Ratan Tata’s invitation. Singh served on the Tata Sons board until recently. Although the company’s official website still lists him as a director, he is learnt to have resigned after his reappointment was reportedly blocked by the Mehli Mistry-led group.Singh was first appointed to the board in 2013 but stepped down in 2018 after reaching the group’s retirement age of 70. He returned to the board in 2022, following Ratan Tata’s decision to make the retirement age more flexible.Story continues below this adMehli Mistry did not respond to emails and messages from The Indian Express seeking comment.The division within Tata Trusts has raised questions about the group’s cohesion and governance as it navigates a rapidly evolving business environment at a time when group companies have collectively lost an estimated $93 billion in market value over the past year, reflecting investor unease.Read | Tata group leaders meet Home Minister Amit Shah, FM Nirmala SitharamanAt the core of the conflict are disagreements over board appointments and the long-pending listing of Tata Sons. What began as subtle dissonance has hardened into two distinct factions, each claiming to uphold the “true spirit” of the Tata legacy.One faction led by Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, along with trustees Venu Srinivasan of TVS Group and Vijay Singh, represents continuity — advocating discretion, stability and the Tata ethos of quiet, consensus-driven management.Story continues below this adOpposing them is the faction led by Mehli Mistry, former Citibank CEO Pramit Jhaveri, Jehangir Hospital chairman Jehangir H C Jehangir and senior counsel Darius Khambata — this group argues that the Trusts have grown opaque and top-heavy, and that governance frameworks must evolve to reflect contemporary standards of accountability.Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan also serve on the Tata Sons board. Reports suggest that the Mehli Mistry camp opposed three candidates proposed by Noel Tata for vacant positions on the Tata Sons board. At the same time, Mistry’s own nomination to the board was reportedly blocked by Noel Tata and Srinivasan.Mehli Mistry is also first cousin of the late Cyrus Mistry, who was once among the contenders for the Tata Trusts chairmanship after Ratan Tata.Among the other key differences is the listing of Tata Sons, which the RBI has mandated under its “upper-layer” non-banking financial company (NBFC) regulations.Story continues below this adTata Sons has sought deregistration as an NBFC to avoid mandatory listing, arguing that it is not engaged in lending activities. However, the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, which owns 18.37 per cent in Tata Sons, has been pushing for a listing to unlock value amid financial stress.When contacted, a spokesperson for Tata Trusts said, “At this stage, Tata Trusts does not have any further response to share.”According to analysts, a prolonged internal discord could paralyse decision-making at the top within one of India’s most prominent business houses. There would be implications for India Inc, too, with 29 listed Tata companies together accounting for over $328 billion in market capitalisation.