New Delhi/Kolkata, Sep 17 (PTI) The EC has temporarily removed the AITC name and its “flowers and grass symbol” from the ballot during the October 6 West Bengal bypolls, barring both rival factions from using the political identity associated with Mamata Banerjee and her party for nearly three decades.
The EC order comes against the backdrop of a rebellion that began in the TMC legislature party after the Assembly poll defeat in May and later spread to Parliament, and has now reached the party’s name and election symbol, forcing both factions to submit their preferred names and symbols for the bypolls by 11 am on Friday.
In its interim order issued on Thursday night, the Election Commission, after hearing leaders of the two factions led by Banerjee and Arup Roy, said the matter requires substantive determination under Para 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Pending determination, neither faction can use the name “All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)” or the reserved “Flowers and Grass” symbol. Both groups must submit three preferred names and three free symbols by 11 am on September 18.
The move is a setback for Mamata Banerjee whose hand-drawn symbol has been central to TMC’s journey since its formation in 1998 after broke away from the Congress. The “flowers and grass” symbol became a potent expression of the party’s grassroots identity for the last 28 years.
The decision drew divergent reactions.
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, a leader of the Mamata camp, rejected the order, calling it “illegal” and “contrary to law”.
“We are not accepting it,” he said, citing “so many legal infirmities”. He added, “Facts have not been placed in the order.” The MP, however, acknowledged that the faction may have to accept the arrangement temporarily.
“At times you have to accept things which may not be in adherence to norms, rules and law for a temporary period,” he said, adding that the faction would submit its response by 11 am on Friday.
Akhruzzaman Ansari, TMC MLA and chief whip of the West Bengal Assembly and rival faction leader, struck a contrasting note. “We accept the order by the EC,” he said.
His camp had wanted the “flowers and grass” symbol.
“Obviously, we wanted the symbol,” Ansari said, but expressed confidence that after the final verdict, his faction would get what he called the “official and original name and symbol of the party”.
The EC order follows a rebellion that has spread through the TMC’s legislative and parliamentary structures.
In June, 58 rebel MLAs elected expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of Opposition instead of the Mamata camp’s nominee, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, and secured recognition from the Assembly Speaker, marking the party’s first split in its 28-year history.
Five days later, the revolt reached Parliament, with 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by senior leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar joining the little-known NCPI and writing to Speaker Om Birla backing the BJP-led NDA as a “separate bloc”, deepening the rupture in the party’s parliamentary ranks.
For the bypolls, the challenge is practical. Candidates of both camps, who had prepared to contest under the TMC banner, must now campaign with separate names and symbols. They may retain a linkage with the parent party in proposed names and choose symbols from the EC’s free-symbol list.
The “grass and flowers” symbol has been associated with the party’s rise in West Bengal, appearing on ballot papers, flags and campaign material as the TMC evolved into a major political force during its 15-year rule.
The crisis followed the TMC’s defeat in the assembly election, as the organisational and legislative structures became arenas for an open power struggle. A large group of legislators rejected the Mamata camp’s nominee for Leader of the Opposition and backed a parallel leadership structure, with senior MLA Arup Roy named its chairperson.
The BJP sought to turn the development into a wider political attack on the TMC.
West Bengal BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said, “It is people’s curse that has hit TMC,” linking the order to what he described as the party’s treatment of Bengal and its people.
For the two TMC camps, the priority is to convert their competing organisational claims into recognisable electoral identities before voters go to the polls.
For the Election Commission, the question of which group is entitled to the party’s name and reserved symbol remains pending.
Until that final determination, the “grass and flower” symbol — the emblem Banerjee drew at the birth of her political organisation — will remain outside the October 6 contest. PTI NAB SKC AO PNT RHL PNT MNB
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