Congress backs Mamata as ECI freezes name and symbol of Trinamool Congress

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Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi. File | Photo Credit: ANI

The Congress party came out in support of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the Election Commission of India froze the name and symbol of her party.

The Commission on September 17 barred both factions, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction and the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction of the party, from using the party symbol and name in the coming Assembly bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal scheduled on October 6.

After defecting from the Congress, Ms. Banerjee set up the Trinamool Congress with the symbol of grass and twin flowers about 28 years ago, in 1998. She defeated the Left Front government in the 2011 Assembly polls and was Chief Minister of the State for 15 years, before losing out to the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2026 Assembly polls.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi criticised the ECI and said that the fight is not just Mamata Banerjee’s fight. “It’s the fight of every political party, every voter who wants free and fair elections,” Mr. Gandhi posted on social media.

The Congress leader said that when an entire party can be stolen, it’s hardly surprising that the votes of millions of Indians can be stolen too.

“Vote theft. Government theft. Now party theft—these have become symbols of our democratic decline. The ECI’s constitutional responsibility is to protect the mandate—but instead, it’s aiding those very forces that overturn the people’s verdict,” he posted on ‘X’.

Mr. Gandhi recalled that first it was Shiv Sena, then NCP, and now Trinamool Congress. “Every time, the same pattern—BJP and the Election Commission join forces to split a party. Then its election symbol is snatched away,” he said.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, in a social media post, condemned this move by the Election Commission and demanded that the ECI immediately restore the party symbol to Mamata Banerjee.

“Freezing the AITC name and symbol - after a blatantly unconstitutional hijack by the BJP - is CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s late-night birthday gift to Modi ji. Those who fought against the BJP, under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership, are now being given the red carpet to rebel against her and commit the unconstitutional sin of defection with the ECI’s help,” Mr. Venugopal said.

Observing that whoever opposes the BJP is dealt a fatal blow and their entire electoral existence is snatched away from them, the Congress leader said that the ECI has once again proven that it is nothing more than a puppet in the hands of the BJP - a tool to destroy democracy bit by bit.

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