EC Bars Rival TMC Factions From Using Party Name, Symbol In Bengal Bypolls As Identity Battle Intensifies

The Election Commission has temporarily barred both rival factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from using the party’s name and its iconic “Flowers and Grass” symbol in the October 6 West Bengal bypolls, turning an internal rebellion into an open battle over the political identity of a party founded by Mamata Banerjee in 1998.

The EC said both groups are claiming to be the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and that the dispute requires a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. Since there was not enough time to complete the proceedings before the bypolls, the Commission imposed an interim arrangement.

For the bypolls, the Mamata-led faction has been allotted “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” with the Football Player symbol, while the rebel camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee and Arup Roy has been allotted “Democratic Trinamool Congress” with the Envelope symbol.

The original AITC name and Flowers and Grass symbol have not been permanently awarded to either faction. The EC has said the interim arrangement will remain in force until it finally determines the dispute. No date has been announced for that final decision.

The Mamata camp strongly objected to the order. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee called it “contrary to law” and said his faction was not accepting it, citing alleged legal infirmities. It nevertheless submitted its preferred names and symbols to the EC “under strongest protest”.

The rebel camp welcomed the interim decision. Ritabrata Banerjee argued that a political party cannot be treated as a private or family organisation and said there was no place for dynastic politics or dictatorship in a democracy.

The dispute stems from the TMC’s defeat in the 2026 Assembly election and a subsequent rebellion in its legislature and parliamentary ranks. It also involves competing claims over the tenure and authority of the party’s National Working Committee.

The immediate electoral test comes on October 6, when Nandigram and Rejinagar go to polls. Until the EC’s final ruling, the party founded nearly three decades ago will enter the contest through two competing identities, while its original name and symbol remain frozen.