TMC Name Frozen, Symbol Lost: Mamata Moves Supreme Court Against EC Order

Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission’s interim decision to freeze the All India Trinamool Congress name and its traditional ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol, turning the TMC’s internal split into a high-stakes legal battle ahead of the October 6 bypolls.

The EC’s September 17 order barred both rival factions from using the original party identity after each claimed to represent the real TMC. Pending a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, the poll panel allotted separate identities for the bypolls.

Mamata’s faction has been given the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the Football Player symbol, while the rival faction has been allotted “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the Envelope symbol. The EC said there was insufficient time to settle the underlying organisational dispute before the bypolls.

Banerjee has challenged the interim arrangement in the Supreme Court. The petition is likely to be taken up for urgent listing on September 21, although the precise hearing schedule remains subject to the court’s listing.

The crucial question is whether the Supreme Court will merely stay the EC order or issue a specific direction restoring the original TMC name and symbol. A stay alone would not automatically guarantee restoration; the court could instead seek further action from the EC. If it specifically orders restoration and does so early enough, the EC could potentially implement the original identity for the October 6 polls.

The EC’s final decision on the rival claims would still remain important. Even if the original identity is restored temporarily, the underlying dispute over which faction is entitled to the party name and symbol would continue under the Paragraph 15 process.

The EC order has already unsettled the campaign, with changes involving candidates in Nandigram and Rejinagar. The October 6 bypolls could therefore become the first test of how quickly the court and poll panel can resolve the TMC’s identity crisis.