Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has criticised the Election Commission's interim decision to not allow rival factions of the All India Trinamool Congress to use the party's name and its reserved election symbol ahead of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly bypolls. Gandhi linked the development to previous disputes between political parties and election symbols, claiming that in the Trinamool Congress case there was a similar situation.
Gandhi said "vote chori" and "government chori" in this post. He added "party chori" to his criticism of the Election Commission. He claimed that the BJP and the poll panel were joining forces to split political parties and deprive them of their established election symbols. Gandhi's political assessment of the Election Commission's action has not been accepted by the poll body.
Gandhi referred to earlier disputes between Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party when he was talking about the TMC issue. The sequence raised more fundamental questions about the functioning of democracy and the protection of electoral mandates, the Congress leader said. And he said the issue was not Mamata Banerjee or Trinamool Congress only but political parties and voters as well.
But the Election Commission's order is based on its belief that there are two rival groups claiming to represent the All India Trinamool Congress. The poll panel said the matter requires a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. However, the commission has put an interim arrangement in place for the upcoming bypolls.
Under the interim arrangement, neither faction will be allowed to use the name “All India Trinamool Congress”. The Commission has also banned both groups from using the ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol, which is the reserved symbol of the party. The interim measure will be to keep the rival groups on an even keel and protect their rights and interests while the dispute is pending and to safeguard the rights and interests of the party from any future conflicts, he said.
The order has major implications for the factions as the West Bengal bypolls approach. They are asked to submit alternative names and free symbols that they would like to use for the elections. The development means the familiar TMC identity and its well-known symbol cannot be used by either side under the interim arrangement until the commission reaches a final decision on the party dispute.
The controversy has also triggered a response from the Congress. The Congress general secretary KC Venugopal criticized the Election Commission's decision and accused the poll panel of abdicating its constitutional responsibilities. Venugopal also referred to it as timing of the order in political terms and criticised Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Congress has intensified its criticism of the commission over the TMC dispute.
पहले शिवसेना, फिर NCP और अब तृणमूल कांग्रेस।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 18, 2026
हर बार एक ही पैटर्न - BJP और चुनाव आयोग मिलकर एक पार्टी को तोड़ते हैं। फिर उसका चुनाव चिन्ह छीन लिया जाता है।
जब पूरी की पूरी पार्टी चोरी हो सकती है, तो करोड़ों भारतीयों के वोट चोरी होना भी हैरानी की बात नहीं।
वोट चोरी। सरकार चोरी।…
Rahul Gandhi has also taken up the TMC issue in his ongoing criticism of the Election Commission. The Congress leader has used the term 'vote chori' to describe the electoral chaos while the Election Commission has rejected or challenged some of his claims. So this is just another conflict between Congress and the poll panel and is only a new chapter in the fight.
The next focus is on the rival factions in the TMC and the alternative names and symbols they choose for the West Bengal bypolls. The Election Commission's determination in terms of the Symbols Order will ultimately determine the party's identity and election symbol in the dispute.
Rahul Gandhi’s comments have brought the issue into a wider political debate: the Congress framed the order as part of a broader concern about electoral institutions, while the Election Commission has framed the measure as an interim measure necessary for competing claims to the TMC’s identity. The party’s outcome will determine the long-term status of the name and the “Flowers and Grass” symbol.
