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The Election Commission of India has frozen the All India Trinamool Congress name and its traditional “Flowers and Grass” symbol for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly bypolls, forcing rival factions of the party to contest under separate interim identities.
On Friday, the commission allotted the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the “Football Player” symbol to the faction led by former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
The rival faction led by Arup Roy was allotted the name “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the “Envelope” symbol. The arrangements are temporary and apply to the upcoming bypolls, according to the commission’s order.
The Election Commission had on Thursday barred both factions from using the “All India Trinamool Congress” name and the reserved “Flowers and Grass” symbol amid an intensifying dispute over control of the party. It directed the two groups to submit three preferred names and symbols from the available list by Friday morning.
The commission’s latest order clears the way for candidates backed by the two factions to contest the October 6 bypolls in West Bengal. The final dispute over control of the party’s name and reserved symbol remains unresolved.
The Mamata-led faction strongly objected to the commission’s earlier decision. Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee described the order as illegal and said the party did not accept it, while acknowledging that the temporary arrangement may have to be followed for the bypolls.
The rival camp welcomed the commission’s decision, although it had sought to retain the party’s traditional symbol.
The dispute follows a split within the Trinamool Congress after the party’s defeat in the May Assembly elections. The conflict subsequently spread from the party’s legislative and organisational structures to its name and election symbol.
The “Flowers and Grass” symbol has been closely associated with the Trinamool Congress since Mamata Banerjee founded the party after breaking away from the Congress in 1998. Over nearly three decades, it became the party’s principal electoral identity in West Bengal.
The Election Commission’s interim decision means that identity will not appear on the ballot for the upcoming bypolls while the broader dispute over control of the party continues.