Congress backs Mamata as ECI freezes name and symbol of Trinamool Congress
The Election Commission of India has frozen the name and symbol of the Trinamool Congress, prompting criticism from the Congress party. Rahul Gandhi condemned the move, alleging a pattern of political interference by the BJP and the ECI.
Why it matters
This highlights ongoing tensions regarding democratic institutions and political party recognition in India.
The Congress party came out in support of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the Election Commission of India froze the name and symbol of her party .
The Commission on September 17 barred both factions, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction and the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction of the party, from using the party symbol and name in the coming Assembly bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal scheduled on October 6.
After defecting from the Congress, Ms. Banerjee set up the Trinamool Congress with the symbol of grass and twin flowers about 28 years ago, in 1998. She defeated the Left Front government in the 2011 Assembly polls and was Chief Minister of the State for 15 years, before losing out to the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2026 Assembly polls.
Also covering this story
3 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
UPI MDR framework: BJP cites Congress MPs as Rahul Gandhi seeks rollback
ECI reserves TMC symbol amid dispute; asks Mamata, Ritabrata factions to pick new names, symbols ahead of bypolls
'BJP and EC join forces': Rahul Gandhi slams EC over TMC name, symbol freeze
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