The two groups will be treated as recognised political parties in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura, according to the EC order. | Photo Credit: Pallavi Keswani _11542

The Election Commission on Friday allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival factions of the Trinamool Congress, allowing them to contest the October 6 West Bengal bypolls under different identities while keeping the dispute over the original party name and symbol open.

The faction led by Mamata Banerjee was allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Football Player’ symbol, while the group led by Arup Roy was allotted ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Envelope’ symbol. The two groups will be treated as recognised political parties in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura, according to the EC order.

The EC’s interim order effectively means that Banerjee’s faction will contest the bypolls without the party name and symbol that have been identified with the TMC since its formation in 1998. The original party name and the ‘Jora Ghash Phul’ symbol have been frozen for both factions pending the final decision.

The decision follows an interim order issued by the EC on Thursday night barring both factions from using the name All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and its reserved ‘Jora Ghash Phul’ (two flowers with grass) symbol in the upcoming bypolls. The Commission had asked both sides to submit three preferred names and three symbols from the list of free symbols available to Independents and registered unrecognised political parties.

The arrangement is interim and will remain in force for the bypolls until the EC finally determines the dispute under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The Commission said the time available was insufficient to complete the proceedings under the provision before the bypolls, but an immediate arrangement was necessary.

The dispute has a direct bearing on the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls, where candidates from both factions had already filed nominations claiming to represent the AITC. At Rejinagar, Safiuzzaman Saikh filed his nomination with a Form-B authorised by Arup Roy, while Rabiul Alam Chowdhury filed one authorised by Mamata Banerjee. At Nandigram, Ehteshmul Haque filed his nomination with Roy’s authorisation, while Sanchita Pradhan (Dey) filed hers with authorisation from Banerjee.

The split follows the rebellion within the TMC legislature party after its defeat in the May Assembly elections, which subsequently extended to Parliament. In June, 58 rebel MLAs elected expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly instead of the Mamata camp’s nominee, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, and secured recognition from the Speaker. Five days later, the revolt reached Parliament, with 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar joining the little-known NCPI and writing to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in support of the BJP-led NDA as a “separate bloc”.

The bypolls to Nandigram in East Midnapore and Rejinagar in Murshidabad are scheduled for October 6, with counting on October 9.

The Nandigram seat fell vacant after Suvendu Adhikari, who won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, chose to retain Bhabanipur. Rejinagar was vacated by AJUP leader Humayun Kabir, who had won both Rejinagar and Naoda.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the EC’s decision, alleging that the poll panel was aiding forces seeking to split political parties. “First Shiv Sena, then NCP, and now Trinamool Congress. Every time, the same pattern - BJP and the Election Commission join forces to split a party. Then its election symbol is snatched away,” he said in a post on X.

Gandhi said the EC’s constitutional responsibility was to protect the electoral mandate and alleged that the developments represented “Vote chori. Government chori. Now party chori”.

The BJP hit back at Gandhi, with party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi asking him to examine the Congress’s own record before making such allegations. Trivedi cited the Congress’s withdrawal of support from governments headed by Deve Gowda, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandra Shekhar and I K Gujral, alleging that the party had toppled those governments when it was in power.

Published on September 18, 2026