The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday allotted new names and symbols to the rival factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) ahead of the nomination scrutiny for the October 6 by-poll to two West Bengal assembly seats.
The Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction has been recognised as "Democratic Trinamool Congress" and allotted the envelope symbol. Former chief minister Mamata Banerjee's faction will be called "Mamata All India Trinamool Congress" with the football player symbol. Both groups have been recognised as political parties in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura.
On Thursday, the ECI restrained TMC factions from using the party name and symbol during the by-polls to the Rejinagar and Nandigram assembly constituencies and asked them to submit alternative names and symbols by 11am on Friday.
West Bengal assembly speaker Rathindra Nath Bose recognised Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) after he was expelled from the party. The Mamata Banerjee faction had named Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay for the post. It expelled two of its 78 legislators, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, before 57 of them rebelled and backed Ritabrata Banerjee as the LoP after the TMC lost power after 15 years. They claimed the right to the party's flowers and grass symbol, its name, and organisational control.
Twenty rebel TMC parliamentarians merged with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India and backed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
{{/usCountry}}Twenty rebel TMC parliamentarians merged with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India and backed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
{{/usCountry}}On June 3, Bose recognised 58 rebel TMC legislators as the principal opposition party and named Ritabrata Banerjee and Saha as the LoP and deputy LoP. This came a month after the BJP swept to power in West Bengal for the first time, winning 207 of 294 seats. The TMC's tally was reduced to 80.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC was left with nine Rajya Sabha members after Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik resigned in June, joined the BJP and were reelected to the upper House on July 24. A fourth TMC Rajya Sabha member, actor Koel Mallick, also resigned from the Rajya Sabha.