The Congress party has backed former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after the Election Commission of India (ECI) temporarily froze the Trinamool Congress (TMC) name and its traditional election symbol ahead of the upcoming Assembly bypolls. The interim decision was announced on September 17 and affects both rival factions of the party.
The ECI has directed both groups to contest the upcoming bypolls under different names and with different election symbols. The Commission has asked the rival factions to submit three choices for a new party name and three choices for an election symbol. The arrangement will remain in place until the dispute over the party’s identity is finally decided.
The dispute follows an internal split within the Trinamool Congress after the party’s defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. Both sides have claimed the right to represent the original party and use its name and the traditional “Flowers and Grass” symbol. The ECI said the matter requires a detailed determination under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Mamata Banerjee founded the Trinamool Congress in 1998 after leaving the Congress party. The party’s traditional symbol is a pair of flowers on grass. Mamata later became West Bengal Chief Minister in 2011 after ending the Left Front’s long period in government.
Congress leaders have criticised the ECI’s interim decision. Rahul Gandhi said the move was an attack on democracy and argued that opposition parties were being targeted. His comments were directed at what he described as a wider pattern involving the BJP, the government and the Election Commission. These are political allegations made by Gandhi and have not been established as findings by the Election Commission.
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal also criticised the decision. He questioned the timing of the ECI order and described it as a move that could weaken political opponents. Venugopal referred to the timing as a “late night birthday gift” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making the comment in the context of the order being issued around Modi’s birthday.
The Congress has therefore expressed support for the Mamata Banerjee-led faction while questioning the Election Commission’s decision. The party has argued that voters should be able to clearly identify the political groups contesting the bypolls.
The ECI, however, has described its action as an interim measure aimed at dealing with the dispute between the rival groups. The Commission has said both factions will receive separate names and symbols for the bypolls while the larger dispute over the TMC’s identity is considered.
The decision is expected to add another layer to the political contest in West Bengal. With the traditional TMC name and symbol temporarily unavailable to both factions, the groups will now have to campaign under new identities in the upcoming bypolls. The final decision on which faction can claim the original party name and symbol will come after the Election Commission completes its proceedings.