The Election Commission of India (ECI) has frozen the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party name and 'Flowers and Grass' symbol for bypolls in West Bengal, citing a leadership dispute between two factions. The interim order, issued after hearing both sides, bars the factions from using the party's name or symbol until the dispute is resolved under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The order will remain in effect for the October 6 by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar, pending a final decision on the leadership dispute.

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, accused the ECI and the BJP of colluding to split the TMC, drawing parallels with past disputes involving the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In a social media post, he claimed that the pattern of BJP and the ECI working together to 'split a party' and 'snatch its election symbol' has repeated itself. 'First 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 wrote. Gandhi further alleged that the ECI's constitutional responsibility to protect the mandate was being undermined, and that the move was aiding forces that 'overturn the people's verdict.'

The ECI stated that the interim measure was intended to 'place both the rival groups on even keel and to protect their rights and interests.' The order requires both factions to submit three preferred names and three preferred free symbols by September 18, from which one symbol will be allotted to their candidates for the bypolls. The Commission has not yet made a final determination on which faction represents the recognized TMC.

West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh claimed that the TMC is in disarray, with the factional dispute undermining the party's unity. 'This fight is not just Mamata Banerjee's; it is the fight of every political party and every voter who desires free and fair elections,' Gandhi stated, throwing his support behind Mamata Banerjee. However, no official response from the TMC factions was provided in the available evidence.

The dispute comes ahead of the October 6 by-elections, where both factions have fielded candidates. The Nandigram seat became vacant after the chief minister, Suvendu Adhikari, vacated the constituency, and the Rejinagar seat became vacant following the resignation of Humayun Kabir, founder of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party. Polling is scheduled for October 6, with results expected on October 9.