The Election Commission will now decide the new identities of two rival Trinamool Congress factions after both groups submitted their preferred party names and symbols before Friday’s 11 a.m. deadline, ahead of the October 6 by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar.
Key Takeaways:
- Two Trinamool Congress factions have submitted separate choices of party names and election symbols to the ECI.
- The Commission has frozen the All India Trinamool Congress name and grass-and-flowers symbol until it takes a final decision.
- The new identities will be used in the October 6 by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar.
The two rival factions of the Trinamool Congress have completed a key step in their battle over the party’s identity. Both groups have submitted their preferred names and election symbols to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The factions are led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee on one side, and expelled party legislator Ritabrata Banerjee on the other.
The submissions came after the ECI froze the existing party name and election symbol. The Commission had also set Friday morning as the deadline for both sides to submit their choices.
Both factions submit choices
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction submitted three options each for a new party name and symbol after midnight on Thursday.
The Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction reportedly sent its choices to the ECI on Friday morning.
The Commission had fixed 11 a.m. on Friday as the deadline for submitting the proposed names and symbols.
Leaders from both factions confirmed on Friday that they had sent their respective choices. However, neither side disclosed the options submitted to the Commission.
Both groups said they would wait for the ECI to announce its decision. They indicated that they would comment on the issue only after the Commission finalises the new identities.
New identities for October 6 bypolls
The ECI’s decision will have an immediate electoral impact.
The two factions will use their newly allotted names and symbols in the forthcoming by-elections to two West Bengal Assembly constituencies.
The seats are Nandigram in East Midnapore district and Rejinagar in Murshidabad district.
Polling in both constituencies is scheduled for October 6. The counting of votes will take place on October 9.
The Commission’s final allotment will therefore determine how the two factions appear on the ballot and before voters in the two bypolls.
ECI freezes Trinamool name and symbol
The Election Commission announced late Thursday night that it had frozen the use of the name All India Trinamool Congress and the party’s grass-and-flowers symbol for the time being.
The interim decision means neither faction can use the existing name or symbol in an election until the ECI reaches a final decision.
The move has forced both groups to seek alternative electoral identities.
The Commission has 184 free symbols available for allotment. The list covers a wide variety of objects and items.
Among the available choices are an AC, cupboard, apple, bangle, binoculars, computer, CCTV, battery torch, cake, biscuit, capsicum, coat and earrings.
The ECI will allot two symbols from the list, with one going to each faction.
Rival reactions to the ECI order
The Commission’s decision drew contrasting reactions from the two groups.
Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee criticised the order and described it as unconstitutional. He told media persons that his faction did not accept the decision.
He also indicated that the faction would take whatever steps were necessary under the circumstances.
“… We are not accepting this order. Just as illegal things have to be accepted temporarily, this too has to be accepted,” he said.
Ritabrata Banerjee took a different position. In a social media post, he welcomed the ECI’s interim decision.
He argued that the order demonstrated that political parties cannot function as private entities or pass from one generation to another through dynastic succession.
“This narrative that was going on regarding the symbol and the name, the Election Commission’s interim order today proves that there is no room for dynastic politics. A political party is not a private limited company, nor can there be an heir to a political party. This has been proven today,” he said.
A major change for the 2026 Bengal election
The Trinamool Congress has used its current name and symbol since its formation in 1998.
Mamata Banerjee launched the party after breaking away from the Congress. Over the years, the party name and grass-and-flowers symbol became closely linked with its political identity.
The party faced several political challenges before coming to power in West Bengal in 2011.
The developments in 2026 now mark a significant change in that established electoral identity.
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For the first time since the party began its political journey, West Bengal is set to witness an election in which the two rival factions cannot use the All India Trinamool Congress name and its existing symbol, at least until the ECI takes a final decision.
The next step now rests with the Election Commission. Its decision on the proposed names and symbols will establish the electoral identities of the two factions for the upcoming by-elections. (With IANS inputs)
