We have saved the Trinamool symbol from shame, say leaders of the Ritabrata-led faction

West Bengal Leader of the Opposition and rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Ritabrata Banerjee leaves after a meeting with Election Commission officials regarding party representations in New Delhi on September 17, 2026. | Photo credit: ANI

When the Election Commission of India (ECI) approved new symbols and names for both factions of the Trinamool Congress, faction leaders led by Ritabrat Banerjee said they had saved the party’s iconic “grass and twin” symbol from embarrassment.

“This is an interim decision for the by-poll. The symbol of the grass and the twin flower will remain with us. We have saved this symbol from shame. We have accepted what the ECI has ordered us to do. We believe in the agency,” said party chief whip Akhtaruzzaman.

On Thursday (September 17, 2026), the ECI froze the symbol and name of the party — All India Trinamool Congress — for use by any of the factions for the upcoming Nandigram and Rejinagar by-elections. Later on Friday (September 18, 2026), both factions submitted their choice of names and symbols to be used in the election.

The ECI has given the ‘footballer’ symbol to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, which will now contest the polls as ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’, while the ‘envelope’ symbol has been given to the Ritabrata faction, which will contest as ‘Trinamool Democratic Congress’.

Trinamool Congress was founded by Mamata Banerjee in 1998 when she herself designed the iconic symbol “joraful” (grass and twin flowers). The party came to power in 2011, defeating the 34-year-old Left Front government. After the 2026 parliamentary polls, when the Trinamool Congress lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an insurgency began within the party’s rank and file.

On 3 June, at least 58 MLAs of the party supported Ritabrat Banerjee in his claim as Leader of the Opposition. The number of MLAs in his support has now increased to over 65. They have accused party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee of unilateral decision-making and centralization of power in the organisation, which has allegedly hurt the sentiment of veteran and grassroots leaders.

Of the 80 Trinamool MLAs who won the parliamentary polls, only about 14 still support Mamata Banerjee and one person is behind bars.

Leader of the Opposition in Bengal Ritabrata Banerjee said that they have put forward three preferences: Trinamool Nationalist Congress, West Bengal Trinamool Congress and Trinamool Democratic Congress. “However, ECI has given us third preference in name and first preference in cover symbol,” he said at a press conference.

The LoP also criticized the Mamata Banerjee-led faction for using her name in the party name. He said that Trinamool Congress is a collective organization and does not belong to any person. Therefore, they did not use someone’s name when submitting their preferences.

On Friday afternoon (September 18, 2026), Sanchita Pradhan (De), Mamata’s All India Trinamool Congress candidate for Nandigram, withdrew her nomination after an alleged meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Mr. Ritabrata called it only an attempt to play for the B-team of the BJP.

“Now everyone knows who is the real agent of BJP. We asked Ms. Banerjee to contest the Nandigram elections. We said we would support her. But she didn’t. That means she didn’t want the entire Trinamool Congress to fight unitedly. So she supported BJP. We saved the dignity of the party she did today and not all of them were appointed by the ECI.”

Elections in two constituencies in West Bengal — Nandigram and Rejinagar — are scheduled for October 6.

Published – 19 Sep 2026 02:32 IST