New Trinamool Faction Names and Symbols Awaited After EC Freeze

Kolkata woke up to the buzz that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has hit the pause button on the All India Trinamool Congress’s original name and its beloved grass‑flower logo. The order, handed down late Thursday, means neither the “original‑but‑minority” group led by Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek, nor the “rebel‑but‑majority” camp under expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, can use the familiar brand until the panel decides otherwise.

Why does this matter? Both factions are gearing up for two crucial by‑elections – Nandigram in East Midnapore and Rejinagar in Murshidabad – scheduled for 6 October, with results due on the 9th. With the official name and symbol locked away, the ECI gave them a tight deadline: by 11 a.m. on Friday they must each send three alternative party names and three alternative symbols. The commission will then pick one option for each side, letting them contest the polls.

Miss the deadline and both groups are out of the race for those two seats – a harsh consequence that adds urgency to the already tense negotiations inside the fractured party.

Trinamool Congress, founded by Mamata Banerjee back in 1998 after splitting from the Congress, has long ridden the wave of its distinctive emblem and name. Those symbols helped it topple the long‑standing Left front in 2011 and stay in power for over a decade. To think that West Bengal might now see an election without that iconic branding is, frankly, unprecedented.

The freeze sparked mixed reactions. Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee, a staunch ally of Mamata, dismissed the order as “unconstitutional,” saying his faction would reluctantly comply but would still challenge the decision. “If we have to pick a symbol we’ll do it by Friday, but we don’t accept this order,” he told reporters.

Ritabrata Banerjee, meanwhile, took to social media with a different tone. He welcomed the move, arguing it proves that political parties are not private inheritances that can be passed down like family heirlooms. “The EC’s interim order today shows there is no room for dynastic politics. A party is not a limited company and cannot have an heir,” he wrote.

All eyes now turn to Friday’s submissions. Whatever names and logos emerge will shape the next chapter of West Bengal politics, and could set a precedent for how party identities are handled when internal splits turn legal battles.