New Delhi, September 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) interim decision to freeze the party’s name and its reserved ‘Flowers and Grass’ election symbol amid an ongoing dispute between rival factions.
The petition, filed on Friday, has been registered under Diary No. 58005/2026, with Banerjee naming the ECI, its Secretary and rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee as respondents.
The move came a day after the poll panel barred both the Mamata Banerjee-led and Ritabrata Banerjee-led factions from using the Trinamool Congress name and its reserved symbol for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly by-elections. The ECI has asked both groups to adopt alternative names and symbols for the polls.
The Commission said two rival groups were claiming to represent the All India Trinamool Congress and that the dispute required substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The interim arrangement was intended to place the rival groups on an equal footing and protect their respective interests until a final decision is taken.
The development has implications for the October 6 by-elections in West Bengal, including the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies.
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction, which has described itself as the “original but minority” group, has strongly objected to the ECI order and maintained that it does not accept the decision.
The dispute has centred on competing claims over the organisational and legislative control of the TMC. The rival faction led by expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee has claimed control over the party’s organisational and legislative structures, while the Mamata-led faction has continued to assert her leadership of the party.
The organisational dispute has also extended to Parliament, where 20 rebel TMC Lok Sabha MPs have broken away and aligned themselves with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), claiming recognition as a separate parliamentary group.
The Mamata-led faction has challenged the delay by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in deciding disqualification petitions against the 20 MPs under the anti-defection law. On August 25, the Supreme Court issued notice to the rebel MPs on a plea filed by TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, while no notice was issued to the Lok Sabha Speaker at that stage. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Speaker, informed the court that notices had already been issued to the MPs in the disqualification proceedings.
The TMC has maintained that the MPs were elected on its symbol and that joining another political formation attracts the anti-defection provisions. The rebel faction, however, has claimed the support of more than two-thirds of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs and sought recognition as a separate parliamentary group.
The dispute subsequently reached the ECI, with both sides staking claims to the party name and election symbol.
Earlier on Friday, the ECI allotted the Mamata Banerjee-led faction the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘football player’ symbol for the by-elections. The rival faction was allotted the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘envelope’ symbol.
The Supreme Court’s records also show a pending matter involving Mamata Banerjee and the ECI, listed as W.P. (C) No. 129/2026.
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