The Trinamool Congress’ internal battle has entered a new phase, with the Election Commission temporarily freezing the party’s official name and its iconic ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol for the upcoming West Bengal bypolls. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction has submitted alternative names and symbols to the poll panel, but has made it clear that it does so under protest. The move comes as the rival factions stake competing claims over the party’s organisational control ahead of the October 6 contests in Nandigram and Rejinagar.
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction sent its preferred names and election symbols to the Election Commission late Thursday night, complying with the interim directive while simultaneously challenging its legal basis.
Senior TMC leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee said the faction did not accept the Commission’s order, arguing that it contained several legal infirmities. At the same time, he acknowledged that the party had to comply with the temporary arrangement for the bypolls.
The rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee, meanwhile, has agreed to abide by the Commission’s interim decision. Its leaders have expressed confidence that the final proceedings will ultimately settle the dispute over the party’s original identity.
The Election Commission’s action follows competing claims by two groups seeking recognition as the All India Trinamool Congress. The poll panel said the dispute required consideration under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Pending a final determination, neither faction can use the official party name or the reserved ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol in the specified bypolls. Both sides were directed to provide three alternative names and symbols from the Commission’s list of free symbols.
The arrangement is specifically interim. The Commission has indicated that the larger question of which faction is entitled to the party’s identity and reserved symbol will be decided separately after examining the rival claims.
The dispute carries particular significance because the ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol has been closely associated with the Trinamool Congress since its formation in 1998.
Founded by Mamata Banerjee after her split from the Congress, the party built much of its political identity around the grassroots imagery represented by its symbol. Over the years, the twin flowers on grass became one of the most recognisable political symbols in West Bengal.
The Commission’s interim order therefore goes beyond a routine change of electoral symbol: for the October 6 bypolls, neither faction will be able to contest under the familiar TMC identity and symbol.
The name-and-symbol dispute is the latest development in a broader organisational confrontation within the TMC following the party’s setback in the 2026 Assembly elections.
The rebellion first surfaced inside the legislature party before spreading to Parliament. The rival camp subsequently began asserting its own claim to represent the party, eventually bringing the dispute over organisational control before the Election Commission.
Both factions have since submitted documents and arguments to the poll panel, each seeking recognition as the legitimate TMC. The Commission’s interim arrangement has now ensured that the competing groups enter the forthcoming bypolls without access to the disputed party name and symbol.
The development has also provided the BJP with an opportunity to target the Trinamool Congress over its internal divisions.
BJP state spokesperson Debjit Sarkar described the Election Commission’s order as a setback for the TMC and linked it to what he characterised as the party’s record in West Bengal. His remarks reflect the wider political contest surrounding the TMC split, although they represent the BJP’s political assessment rather than an independent finding by the Election Commission.
The October 6 bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar will now take place against the backdrop of an unusual electoral situation: two factions claiming the same political legacy will have to campaign under separate names and symbols, at least temporarily.
The immediate contest will therefore involve not only candidates and local issues but also competing claims over the TMC’s organisational inheritance. The eventual decision under Paragraph 15 could have implications extending beyond the two bypolls, depending on how the Commission resolves the rival claims.
For now, however, the iconic TMC name and ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol remain frozen for the two contests, leaving both factions to seek alternative electoral identities while the larger dispute continues before the poll panel.
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