Election Commission Freezes Trinamool Congress Name and Symbol, Rival Factions Told to Choose New Identities for Bengal Bypolls
The Election Commission of India has barred both rival factions of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) from using the party’s name and its reserved “Flowers and Grass” election symbol for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly bypolls. The interim order was issued on September 17, 2026, after the poll panel heard competing claims over control of the party.
The Commission identified two rival groups in the dispute, one led by Mamata Banerjee and the other led by Arup Roy, with both claiming to represent the Trinamool Congress. The EC said the competing claims require a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
The decision means that, for the current by-election process, neither faction can use the name “All India Trinamool Congress” or the party’s traditional two-flowers-on-grass symbol. The Commission said the interim arrangement was necessary because the electoral process was already underway and there was insufficient time to complete the full adjudication of the organisational dispute.
The two factions have been instructed to submit three alternative names in order of preference and three free election symbols by 11 a.m. on September 18. The Commission will select an approved name and allot a symbol from the available list for the bypolls.
The immediate electoral significance is substantial because the dispute has emerged ahead of the October 6 bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar. Both factions had fielded candidates while asserting their claims to the Trinamool identity, making the question of the recognised name and symbol particularly urgent.
The dispute has its roots in an organisational confrontation within the party. The rival camp has argued that the party’s organisational structure faced a constitutional issue, while the Mamata Banerjee-led side has rejected that interpretation and questioned the validity of the rival group’s organisational process.
Under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols Order, the Election Commission can determine which rival section represents a recognised political party when competing groups claim the same party identity. The process can involve examination of organisational records and competing claims before a final decision is reached.
For now, however, the EC has not awarded the Trinamool name or the “Flowers and Grass” symbol to either side. Instead, it has placed the two factions on an interim footing for the bypolls, while keeping the larger question of control of the recognised party open for substantive determination.
The order therefore represents an immediate freeze rather than a final ruling on which faction is entitled to the Trinamool Congress identity. The eventual determination under the Election Symbols Order will decide the longer-term status of the party name and reserved symbol.
