EC Bars Both TMC Factions from Using Party Name, "Flowers and Grass" Symbol in Bengal Bypolls; Asked to Pick New Name, Symbol

Kolkata: The Election Commission has issued an interim order directing both rival factions of the Trinamool Congress to stop using the party's name and its "Flowers and Grass" symbol during the upcoming West Bengal bypolls, pending a final resolution of the ongoing leadership dispute within the party.

In an interim order issued Thursday night, after hearing representatives from the factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy, the electoral body said the matter requires a substantive determination under the provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The Commission ruled that neither group would be permitted to use the "All India Trinamool Congress" name or the party's reserved symbol for the bypolls.

Instead, both factions have been told they may contest under names of their own choosing, including references linking them to the parent party if they wish, and will be allotted separate symbols from the list of free symbols notified by the Commission for the current round of elections. The two sides have been asked to submit three preferred names and three preferred symbols, in order of priority, by 11 am on Friday, September 18, from which the Commission will make its allotment.

The dispute centres on control of the TMC ahead of bypolls scheduled for October 6 in the Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly constituencies of West Bengal. The Commission's order is intended to apply specifically for the purposes of these bypolls, while the broader question of which faction holds legitimate claim to the party's identity remains pending before the poll body.