Mamata Banerjee's party, rebel camp get new name, symbol after TMC's EC freeze

The Election Commission allotted the 'football player' symbol to Mamata Banerjee's faction and the 'envelope' symbol to the rebel camp for the October 6 West Bengal bypoll.

In Short

• 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' gets football player symbol
• Rebels get 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' name with envelope symbol
• Temporary symbols valid for upcoming by-poll, final decision pending

The Election Commission on Friday allotted separate interim names and election symbols to the two rival factions of the Trinamool Congress after freezing the party’s existing name and symbol. The faction led by Mamata Banerjee was allotted the name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' and the election symbol 'football player', while the rebel faction was allotted the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' and the election symbol 'envelope'.

The symbols are temporary and will apply to the upcoming by-election, the Election Commission specified, as the tussle for control of West Bengal’s Opposition party continues unabated.

The fresh identities were allotted a day after the Election Commission froze the 'All India Trinamool Congress' name and its traditional 'flowers and grass' symbol, temporarily removing both from the ballot for the October 6 West Bengal bypolls. This barred either faction from using the political identity associated with the TMC for nearly three decades.

MAMATA CALLS EC ORDER ‘POLITICAL VENDETTA’

Reacting to the EC’s decision, Mamata Banerjee called it a “black day” in India’s democratic history and described the order as “political bias and vendetta”. She questioned the decision to freeze the party’s name and symbol and said the move was aimed at satisfying the “ego” of a political party.

Mamata also alleged that the party’s accounts had been frozen and claimed that its workers were being targeted. She said police had become an “arm” of the ruling BJP and claimed that workers were being pressured to join the party. These claims were made by Mamata at her press conference and have not been independently established.

She further claimed that around 14,000 party workers were in jail and said she herself was under house arrest and unable to meet party workers. “As a common citizen I am not getting my freedom,” she said.

On the EC order, Mamata said it was an interim arrangement and vowed to challenge it. “We will never bow down our head and we will bounce back,” she said.

Mamata also asserted that she would remain associated with the All India Trinamool Congress for the rest of her life, saying, “I cannot leave All India Trinamool Congress until I leave this world.”

MAMATA BACKS CONGRESS CANDIDATE IN NANDIGRAM

Mamata also announced her support for the Congress candidate in the Nandigram bypoll and said her faction would not field a candidate from the seat. She expressed solidarity with the INDIA alliance and said, “We are ready to fight it out. I want BJP to go from India.”

She also questioned the rival faction’s claim to the TMC identity.

“It has been proven who are the real Trinamool and those who were fake and were minting money and getting clean chit from scams,” Mamata said.

DISPUTE OVER TMC IDENTITY

The Commission's interim order came against the backdrop of a rebellion led by Ritabrata Banerjee against Mamata Banerjee, which began within the TMC legislature party after its defeat in the Assembly polls in May and later spread to Parliament, eventually reaching the party’s name and election symbol. The EC said the matter required substantive determination under the existing laws.

The two groups were directed to submit three preferred names and three free symbols by 11 am on Friday. The EC subsequently allotted the two factions their interim identities for the upcoming bypoll.

The Mamata camp was allotted the name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress', along with the 'football player' symbol, while the rival faction was allotted the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' and the 'envelope' symbol. The Commission approved both as temporary arrangements for the bypoll.

The decision is significant for the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, whose hand-drawn 'flowers and grass' symbol has been central to the TMC's political journey since its formation in 1998 after Banerjee broke away from the Congress.

The symbol became a potent expression of the party's grassroots identity over the last 28 years and has featured prominently on ballot papers, flags and campaign material as the TMC evolved into a major political force in West Bengal.

The Mamata-led Trinamool camp called the EC order freezing the party's name and symbol illegal and reacted sharply to the decision. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee rejected the order, calling it "illegal" and "contrary to law".

"We are not accepting it," he said, citing "so many legal infirmities". He also questioned the contents of the order, saying, "Facts have not been placed in the order."

The MP, however, acknowledged that the faction may have to accept the arrangement temporarily.

The rival faction, meanwhile, welcomed the Election Commission's freeze order, though it said it wanted the 'flowers and grass' symbol.

Akhruzzaman Ansari, TMC MLA, chief whip of the West Bengal Assembly and a leader of the rival faction, said, "We accept the order by the EC."

"Obviously, we wanted the (old) symbol," Ansari said, while expressing confidence that after the final verdict, his faction would get what he described as the "official and original name and symbol of the party".

For now, however, the faction will enter the bypolls under the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' with an 'envelope' as its election symbol.

THE REBELLION IN TRINAMOOL

The EC order follows a rebellion that spreaded through the TMC's party structures. The crisis followed the TMC's defeat in the Assembly election, as the structures in the party became arenas for open power struggle.

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. The development marked the party's first split in its 28-year history.

5 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 Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, backing the BJP-led NDA as a "separate bloc", deepening the rupture in the party's parliamentary ranks.

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.

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