Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Trinamool Congress faction led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee moved the Supreme Court on Friday (September 18, 2026) against a decision by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to freeze the party’s symbol.
The petition was filed hours after the top poll body on Friday (September 18, 2026) allotted new names and symbols to the two factions of the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee.
On Thursday (September 17, 2026), the ECI had issued an interim order barring the use of the party symbol and name in the upcoming Assembly byelections in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal.
The Mamata-led faction got the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ with ‘football player’ as its symbol, while the Ritabrata-led grouping was allotted the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ with the symbol of an ‘envelope’.
The plea said the ECI did not comprehensively look into the party structure while considering rival claims made by the two camps.
The petition said the Election Commission had banked on the statements of rebel legislators who were facing disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution.
The Mamata Banerjee camp has also filed a separate petition highlighting the delay in the disqualification proceedings pending before the West Bengal Assembly Speaker against the 10 legislators from the rebel faction.
Published – September 19, 2026 01:15 am IST
