Mamata Banerjee Challenges Election Commission Order in Supreme Court

Close-up of hands arranging name tags on a conference table, preparing for a corporate event. Photo: RDNE Stock project/Pexels

Mamata Banerjee has approached India’s Supreme Court to contest the Election Commission’s interim order that froze the All India Trinamool Congress name and the party’s ‘Flowers and Grass’ election symbol for both rival factions.

Petition Challenges Interim Freeze

The writ petition, filed on September 18 and registered as Diary No. 58005 of 2026, names the Election Commission of India, its Secretary, and Ritabrata Banerjee as respondents. It was filed a day after the Commission issued its interim order on September 17, which concluded that two rival groups had emerged within the party, each claiming to be the All India Trinamool Congress, and that the competing claims required a substantive determination.

The Commission’s order directed that neither group use the party name or the ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol, and asked both to submit alternative names and symbols. The Commission clarified that the arrangement was interim and did not amount to a final adjudication of the rival claims over the original name and symbol.

Separate Symbols Allocated for By-Elections

On September 18, the Commission allotted separate names and symbols to the two factions for the upcoming by-elections. The faction led by Mamata Banerjee was given the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the “Football Player” symbol, while the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee received the name “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the “Envelope” symbol.

The arrangement applies specifically to the by-elections for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly seats in West Bengal, scheduled for October 6. The substantive dispute over the party name and symbol remains pending before the Election Commission under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

Rival Factions Defend Positions

Mamata Banerjee, according to her public statements, has described the freezing of the party’s name and symbol as a “black day” in the country’s democratic history. Her petition challenges the Commission’s interim order and the consequent deprivation of the established party name and symbol to her faction.

Ritabrata Banerjee, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, has defended the Commission’s decision, stating that a political party is not a private company. The rival group claims control over the party’s organisational and legislative structures, while the Mamata Banerjee-led faction maintains that she remains the party’s leader.