Mamata Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Trinamool Symbol Freeze

Mamata Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court against the Election Commission's interim order that temporarily froze the name and symbol of the Trinamool Congress, calling the directive illegal. The move follows a dispute between two factions — one led by the former chief minister and the other by Ritabrata Banerjee — both staking claim to the party's identity.

The Commission's interim order of September 17 barred both groups from using the name 'All India Trinamool Congress' and the 'flowers and grass' symbol, and directed them to choose different names and symbols for the bypolls scheduled for October 6. The Mamata faction was allotted the name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' and the 'Football Player' symbol, while the Ritabrata Banerjee-Arup Roy faction received the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' and the 'Envelope' symbol.

The court challenge came hours after the bypoll in Nandigram was rocked by its own controversy. Sanchita Pradhan Dey, the Banerjee faction's candidate, withdrew after meeting Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Shortly afterwards, at a press conference at her Kalighat residence, Banerjee announced that her faction would support Congress candidate Milan Pradhan, describing the Congress as a "sister party" and saying the message for strengthening the INDIA bloc should begin from Bengal.

Pradhan was arrested hours later in connection with a murder case dating back to the 2007 Nandigram anti-land acquisition protests. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi called the arrest "political revenge" and said the Congress would neither fear nor bow down. Congress leader KC Venugopal, writing on X, said the use of a dormant 19-year-old case to arrest the candidate minutes after Banerjee extended support showed the BJP would go to any lengths to hijack democracy. Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh questioned the lack of confidence and asked what the fear was about.

Bengal state Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, however, said the party had not sought Banerjee's backing, noting that she had fielded a candidate and was now extending support after that candidate's withdrawal. The BJP took a dig that neither party would win anyway.