Two TMC factions file nominations in Bengal bypolls, await EC call on party name and symbol

Two rival factions of the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday filed nominations for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly bypolls, each claiming to be the “real” TMC and laying claim to the party’s name and twin-flowers-on-grass symbol, even as the Election Commission is yet to decide which camp is entitled to use them, reported news agency PTI.

The unusual contest has put both factions in the electoral fray under competing claims to the same party identity, with the poll panel expected to address the dispute even as campaigning gets underway.

The Mamata Banerjee-led faction’s Nandigram nominee Sanchita Pradhan Dey filed her nomination at the Haldia sub-divisional office on Wednesday in the presence of former TMC MLA and senior leader Akhil Giri.

Dey, a schoolteacher, had emerged as the local face of the party after Giri advocated fielding a local candidate in the politically sensitive constituency.

“I have been permitted to file my nomination on the symbol of the All India Trinamool Congress signed by Mamata Banerjee. I have filed my nomination accordingly. I will carry out the election campaign as directed by the party,” Dey said, PTI reported.

Asked whether Banerjee would campaign for her in Nandigram, Dey said there had been no detailed discussion on the matter yet.

“Who will campaign for me, I do not know. The plans will now be made,” she said.

For the TMC, Nandigram carries significance beyond the arithmetic of an Assembly bypoll. The constituency was at the centre of the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement that helped propel the party towards power and contributed to the end of the Left Front’s 34-year rule in West Bengal.

The seat also has particular significance for Banerjee, who contested from Nandigram in the 2021 Assembly election but lost to her former protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari.

Adhikari, now the chief minister, won the seat again in the 2026 Assembly polls but subsequently retained Bhabanipur and vacated Nandigram, necessitating the bypoll.

The BJP has fielded Hasirani Rath, mother of Adhikari’s slain aide Chandranath Rath. The Ritabrata Banerjee-led TMC faction, meanwhile, has nominated Mohammad Eteshamul Haque.

In Rejinagar, the rival faction’s nominee Safiuzzaman Sheikh also filed his nomination on Wednesday amid a show of strength by the camp in Murshidabad.

Supporters of the Ritabrata faction took over the TMC’s main district office in Berhampore, putting up their own banners and holding a closed-door strategy meeting attended by senior leaders, including former minister Firhad Hakim.

TMC MP Abu Taher, who has switched to the NCPI along with 19 other MPs and extended support to the BJP-led NDA, was also seen at the nomination rally.

Taher later told PTI that he attended the rally because Sheikh was a family member and had served as his election agent.

“Yes, I had gone to the nomination rally. He was my election agent. He is family. I had to go,” Taher said.

His presence added another layer to the Rejinagar contest, where Sheikh is being projected by the Ritabrata faction as its candidate while the larger dispute over the TMC’s identity and organisational control remains unresolved.

The Mamata faction has fielded former MLA Rabiul Alam Chowdhury from Rejinagar, setting up a direct contest between candidates seeking votes in the name of the same party.

Rabiul has said Banerjee told him that her decision on campaigning would depend on the Election Commission’s ruling on the party symbol.

“She said, ‘Let us first see what happens with the symbol’,” Rabiul quoted Banerjee as saying, adding that she would campaign after the party name and symbol were settled.

The EC has asked representatives of both factions to remain present at a key meeting on Thursday after seeking additional documents from them by Wednesday, the last date for filing nominations.

The nomination papers are also scheduled to be scrutinised on Thursday, with poll officials indicating that an ad hoc arrangement could be considered given that the bypolls are scheduled for October 6.

The Commission’s decision assumes significance as candidates from both factions have already entered the electoral contest while claiming the same party identity.

The poll panel heard representatives of both camps on September 12 and subsequently sought further documents. Since then, the rival factions have continued to assert their respective claims over the All India Trinamool Congress name, organisational control and the party symbol.

The organisational dispute has therefore moved directly into an electoral contest without the central question of party identity being settled. Both factions are seeking votes under a party name whose ownership is itself before the poll panel.

If the symbol dispute is not resolved before the election, the Commission could consider an interim arrangement, including freezing the disputed symbol and requiring the factions to contest under separate temporary identities.

Alternatively, one faction could be recognised as entitled to the original symbol while the other would have to adopt a different identity.

The bypolls will consequently put the rival factions’ competing claims to the TMC’s organisational and political legacy before voters, while the EC determines which camp can formally claim the party name and symbol.

For now, both factions are preparing for the campaign as the poll panel weighs the dispute.

Polling for Nandigram and Rejinagar is scheduled for October 6, with counting set for October 9.

(With inputs from PTI)