THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA (ECI) approved new symbols and names for the two factions of TMC today, September 18, 2026, ahead of the upcoming bypolls in the state. It had issued an interim order on Thursday, September 17, 2026, barring both the factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state of West Bengal from using either the party name or symbol in the upcoming assembly bypolls. The bypolls are scheduled to take place in two constituencies; Nandigram and Rejinagar scheduled on October 6, 2026. The two factions of TMC in the state are led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee—which are referred to as the TMC (Kalighat) and TMC (Rebel) in the parlance of the local politics and mainstream media. The Election Commission, by deciding on this freezing of name and symbol, attempted to resolve an ongoing dispute between the two factions.
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As of now, the ECI has issued its decision for both the factions. It has asked both the factions—TMC (Kalighat) led by Mamata and TMC (Rebel) led by Ritabrata—to submit their alternative names and symbols for the bypolls by Friday, September 18.
The Ritabrata faction widely welcomed the decision of the ECI. Ritabrata even posted a statement on social media hailing the constitutional values. “Politics is a permanent war; war at every hour; a war at every minute; a war at every second- a war that changes interests, needs and priorities. Long live the eternal ideas and value of Democracy enshrined in India’s constitution,” said Ritabrata. The TMC (Rebel) faction chief whip in the assembly, Akhruzzaman also expressed their hope to get the ‘grass and twin flower’ symbol in the future.
On the other hand, TMC under Mamata Banerjee has shown their dissatisfaction with ECI’s ruling. Member of the Parliament, Kalyan Banerjee said to the press about the multiple legal infirmities in the order. “This order is contrary to law.” MLA Kunal Ghosh—who acts as a spokesperson of Mamata’s TMC faction, and is also Mamata loyalist—however, stated that they are ready with their plans and assured the party supporters of the Plans A, B, C, D planned by the supremo.
The Indian National Congress (INC) also showcased their opposition to this order, claiming it to be a “bullet through the heart of Indian democracy.”
The TMC faction led by Mamata was reported to have submitted their choice of alternative name and symbol to the polling panel at around 11:36 pm on Thursday, while mentioning “under strongest protest.”
The Ritabrata faction has proposed three names to the ECI. They are, ‘Nationalist Trinamool Congress’, ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and ‘West Bengal Trinamool Congress’ respectively.
The ECI issued its decision on the requests submitted by the two factions. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction was given the symbol of a football player and the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress.’ The rebel faction led by Ritabrata was allotted the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ with an envelope as its election symbol. Both these parties would now launch their campaign and proceed towards the upcoming bypolls with these names and symbols respectively.
After the defeat in the legislative elections, a number of TMC leaders began to rebel against the party and its ‘illegal’ manners of operation. However, surprisingly a bunch of the lot began to hint at their potential jump to the triumphant Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) camp. Despite the loud proclamation of BJP President Samik Bhattacharya to block all TMC members trying to join BJP, the process of swapping jerseys had already begun under the radar.
In June 2026, 58 rebel TMC MLAs chose Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the assembly, in place of Mamata Bloc’s nominee, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, resulting in a split within the party. This did not end here, five days later, 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar joined and resurrected the less-known party NCPI. This rupture struck another blow to the TMC, as the NCPI (Rebel TMC MPs in Lok Sabha) showcased their support to the BJP-led NDA.
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So, the irony in TMC’s career is that, the party was itself formed as a part of the faction within the then State Congress (Pradesh Congress) and came into being in 1998. 28 years later, it was doomed by the very spell that once blossomed its garden.
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