Mamata AITC Gets Football Player Symbol, Rebels Get Envelope

Kolkata: The Election Commission on Friday allotted separate names and election symbols to the two rival factions of the Trinamool Congress ahead of the October 6 West Bengal Assembly bypolls. The faction led by Mamata Banerjee will contest as “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” with the Football Player symbol, while the rival faction led by Arup Roy will contest as “Democratic Trinamool Congress” with the Envelope symbol.

The decision follows the EC’s interim order of September 17, under which both factions were barred from using the “All India Trinamool Congress” (AITC) name and its traditional Flowers and Grass (Jora Ghash Phul) symbol for the upcoming bypolls. The original name and symbol have been frozen pending adjudication of the dispute over control of the party.

The new names and symbols are an interim electoral arrangement intended to safeguard the nominations of candidates fielded by the two groups. The EC has said the two factions will be treated as recognised political parties in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura under the temporary arrangement.

The Commission had asked both sides to submit three preferred names and symbols after freezing the original identity. The Mamata-led group received its first-choice name, while the rival group was allotted “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the Envelope symbol.

The development comes just weeks before the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls, scheduled for October 6, with counting due on October 9. Candidates backed by the rival factions will now appear on the ballot under their respective new party names and symbols.

The EC’s move has temporarily created two distinct electoral identities for the rival camps, ending the immediate uncertainty over which name and symbol their candidates can use in the bypolls. The larger dispute over the original AITC identity and the reserved Flowers-and-Grass symbol, however, remains subject to the Commission’s further proceedings.