The Election Commission has allotted new names and election symbols to the two rival factions of the Trinamool Congress ahead of the October 6 West Bengal Assembly bypolls. Mamata Banerjee’s faction will contest as the “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” with the “Football Player” symbol. The rival group led by Arup Roy will contest as the “Democratic Trinamool Congress” with the “Envelope” symbol.

The new arrangement follows the Election Commission’s interim decision to freeze the original “All India Trinamool Congress” name and its reserved “Flowers & Grass” symbol. The dispute over the party’s identity is still pending before the poll panel. Until a final decision is taken, neither faction can use the original name or symbol.

The Mamata-led faction will be recognised as a political party in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura under its new name and symbol. The Arup Roy-led group has received the same recognition in these three states under its allotted identity.

The Election Commission said on September 17 that two rival groups were claiming to represent the All India Trinamool Congress. One faction is led by party founder Mamata Banerjee, while the rival group is led by Arup Roy, with Ritabrata Banerjee among its key leaders. The Commission said the dispute requires a final decision under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

After freezing the original identity, the Commission asked both factions to submit alternative names and symbols. Mamata’s group proposed “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” as one of its preferred names. It also sought a football-related symbol or a cricket bat. The Commission allotted it the “Football Player” symbol.

The Arup Roy faction proposed names including “Democratic Trinamool Congress”. Its preferred symbols included a blackboard, envelope and torch. The Commission selected the “Envelope” symbol for the group.

The new identities were introduced ahead of the October 6 bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar. Votes are scheduled to be counted on October 9. Candidates from the Mamata-led faction will appear on the ballot with the Football Player symbol instead of the familiar Flowers & Grass symbol. The Arup Roy group will use the Envelope symbol.

The Flowers & Grass symbol has been closely linked with Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress since the party’s formation in 1998. Mamata founded the party after leaving the Congress. The symbol became associated with the Trinamool’s political rise in West Bengal and its 2011 Assembly election victory over the Left Front.

The latest order does not give either faction permanent control over the original party name or symbol. The Election Commission will continue examining the rival claims under Paragraph 15. Its final decision will determine whether either group can claim the original All India Trinamool Congress name and the Flowers & Grass symbol.

Also, Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced that her faction would support the Congress in Nandigram and Assam. She said the decision was taken in the “greater interest of the nation”.

The announcement came soon after her faction’s Nandigram Assembly bypoll candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew her nomination after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

Addressing the media, Banerjee said, “We are extending our support to Congress in Nandigram and in Assam. We are doing this for the greater interest of the nation.”

Banerjee also criticised the BJP and the Election Commission over allotting separate names and symbols to the two rival TMC factions.

Reacting to the Election Commission’s decision, Banerjee said she did not disrespect the constitutional office but called the development a “black day” in the country’s democratic history. “We don't disrespect the Constitutional Chair, but we feel today is a black day in our democratic history,” she said. She alleged that the developments were “unconstitutional, illegal, undemocratic” and part of a politically motivated vendetta.

Banerjee also accused the BJP of weakening democratic institutions. She alleged that opposition leaders and journalists had faced action for speaking against the ruling party. “It is a matter of great sadness. They looted in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Bengal. This ‘Jhootha BJP Party’, a ‘Jumla Party’...” she said.