Election Commission freezes Trinamool Congress name and symbol ahead of Bengal byelections

The Election Commission of India has frozen the name and the famous 'flowers and grass' symbol of the All India Trinamool Congress, blocking both rival factions from using them in the upcoming West Bengal byelections.

An interim order, issued on Thursday night, forces the group led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a breakaway faction led by Arup Roy to find temporary new identities. Both sides have been given until 11:00 am on Friday to submit three alternative names and symbols to the poll body.

This sudden electoral identity crisis comes right as candidates prepare for byelections in the Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly constituencies. Both camps had already claimed the party identity and fielded candidates under the classic 'Joda Ghas Phool' banner. Because the commission does not have enough time to resolve the ownership dispute before the October vote, it chose to mothball the name and symbol entirely to keep the playing field level.

A party divided

The battle for control pits Mamata Banerjee against a rebel faction formally led by Arup Roy, with Ritabrata Banerjee, the state’s Leader of the Opposition, serving as its public face. While Mamata’s faction sent a high-profile delegation including Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien to the commission, Ritabrata Banerjee represented the rebel camp in person during a series of rapid hearings this month.

The Election Commission had met both sides twice in less than five days to parse their claims, even demanding additional organisational documents from the rebel group to prove their standing.

In its 14-page ruling, the commission—headed by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar alongside commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi—explained that the fight required "substantive determination" under national election symbol rules. Until that final decision is reached, neither side can lay claim to the legacy brand. Both groups can, however, choose new names that show a link to the parent party if they wish.

Outrage from the opposition

The decision immediately drew fierce criticism from opposition allies, who see it as part of a broader pattern of state-led pressure on regional parties.

Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal called the freeze "a bullet through the heart of Indian democracy", accusing the election commission of acting as a puppet for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to dismantle regional opposition. Venugopal drew direct parallels to previous commission decisions that stripped the original leadership of the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party of their symbols during internal mutinies. He demanded that the commission immediately restore the symbol to Mamata Banerjee.

The commission has previously used similar freeze orders during splits in other major regional parties, maintaining that such measures are necessary to prevent voter confusion when two camps claim the same identity on a ballot paper. For now, candidates in Nandigram and Rejinagar will have to campaign under unfamiliar names and symbols, with the final ownership of the Trinamool brand left for a longer legal battle.