New Delhi: In a major development in the ongoing power struggle within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Election Commission has frozen the party’s official name and its ‘Flowers and Grass’ election symbol. The interim order means that neither the faction led by Mamata Banerjee nor the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee and Arup Roy can use the ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ name or the party’s reserved symbol during the upcoming West Bengal Assembly bypolls. The bypolls to Nandigram and Rejinagar will be held on October 6, making the Commission’s decision particularly significant for both camps.
Why did the Election Commission freeze the TMC name and symbol?
The two factions have been locked in a dispute over control of the party, its organisational structure, official name and election symbol. The Election Commission has recognised the two groups as rival factions and is examining their competing claims under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order. Pending a final decision on which faction is entitled to the party’s reserved identity, the Commission has decided that neither side can use the existing TMC name or symbol for the bypolls.
Both factions asked to choose new names and symbols
The Election Commission has directed both factions to submit three choices of names and three choices of free election symbols. The choices have to be submitted by 11 am on September 18. The Commission will subsequently allot separate names and symbols to the two groups for the by-election process. The factions can also include a reference to their parent party, All India Trinamool Congress, in the names they propose, subject to the Commission’s approval. The arrangement is interim and will remain in force until the Commission takes a final decision on the dispute.
How did the TMC crisis begin?
The present dispute intensified after the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, when an open rebellion emerged within the TMC.Ritabrata Banerjee, a first-time MLA who was subsequently expelled by the TMC, emerged as a prominent face of the rebel camp. In June, Ritabrata claimed that around 60 of the TMC’s 80 MLAs supported his faction’s demand for changes in the party’s functioning. The rebel legislators supported his claim to lead the TMC legislature party, following which he was recognised as the Leader of the Opposition by the Assembly Speaker.
The rebel MLAs had maintained that Mamata Banerjee continued to be their overall leader but sought changes in the functioning of the party and opposed the growing influence of Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC general secretary.
Rebels announce separate leadership
The dispute subsequently moved beyond demands for organisational changes. On June 22, the Ritabrata-led faction claimed to have removed Mamata Banerjee as TMC chairperson and appointed senior MLA Arup Roy as chairperson of what it described as the “real TMC”. The Mamata-led camp rejected the move and continued to recognise her as the party’s leader. Both factions subsequently approached the Election Commission, staking claims to the TMC’s organisational identity, name and election symbol.
Battle now moves to the bypolls
The dispute became more contentious after both camps announced candidates for the Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls while claiming the TMC identity. With the Election Commission now freezing the existing party name and symbol, the two factions will have to contest the bypolls under separately allotted names and free symbols.
The Commission’s eventual decision on the organisational dispute will determine which faction, if any, is entitled to use the reserved TMC name and ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol in the future. For now, the familiar TMC identity has been put on hold for both camps ahead of the crucial October 6 bypolls.
