Mamata Banerjee Moves Supreme Court After Election Commission Freezes TMC Name and Symbol

Mamata Banerjee approached the Supreme Court on Friday, challenging the Election Commission of India's decision to strip her faction of the All India Trinamool Congress name and its traditional flowers-and-grass symbol.

The legal challenge follows an interim ruling issued on Thursday that froze the party's identity amid an ongoing factional dispute.

The poll panel allotted the Arup Roy-led camp the title Democratic Trinamool Congress with an envelope symbol, while Banerjee's group was designated as Mamata All India Trinamool Congress using a football player symbol across West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura.

Denouncing the ruling as a black day for Indian democracy, Banerjee likened the loss of the party insignia to a mother losing her child. She vowed to exhaust all legal and political avenues to reclaim the original identity, noting that senior opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal telephoned her to express solidarity.

Nandigram Bypoll Withdrawal

In a related political shift, Banerjee announced that her faction would boycott the upcoming October 6 Nandigram bypoll and instead back Congress candidate Milan Pradhan.

The tactical retreat involves the withdrawal of Sanchita Pradhan Dey, the local teacher initially fielded by Banerjee's camp. This move marks a rare electoral alignment in West Bengal between the TMC and Congress, who last fought an assembly election together in 2011, underscoring a joint opposition strategy to consolidate anti-BJP votes.

Hours after Mamata Banerjee's faction supported him, Nandigram Bypoll candidate Pradhan was arrested in an old murder case.

While Congress alleged political conspiracy to stifle opposition, BJP denied any involvement in the matter.