Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses a press conference at Kalighat, in Kolkata on September 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday (September 18, 2026) said that she will fight and emerge stronger following the loss of the Trinamool Congress party name and symbol ahead of the byelections in the State.
The interests of a political party are being served, Ms. Banerjee said, addressing a press conference a day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) froze the symbol of “grass and twin flowers” along with the name ‘All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)’.
“Today is a black day in the history of democracy. Which is unfortunate, unconstitutional, anti-democratic, politically biased. The interests of a political party are being served,” she said.
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.
Ms. Banerjee trained her guns on the poll body, saying that a “fake” SIR (Special Intensive Revision) was orchestrated followed by “not so clean” elections. “I do not respect the individual. He works for the BJP. He has done fake SIR, fake votes. CRPF has done the counting. He has thrown out the counting agent. He has hijacked the whole thing,” the Chairperson of Mamata All India Trinamool Congress said.
The ECI has allocated the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ to Ms. Banerjee’s faction with the symbol of a “football player” for the upcoming bypolls.
“We have temporarily submitted alternative names and symbol preferences only because the byelection process is already underway. This does not mean that we accept what has happened. We will return to our original symbol,” she said.
Ms. Banerjee also targeted the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction of the party, which has been allocated the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’, and said that they have betrayed their mother which was the name of the party and the symbol.
“If anyone really respected the Trinamool Congress, they would not insult its mother like this by snatching away the symbol and make it an orphan. Taking away the symbol shows that they never loved Trinamool,” she said.
Ms. Banerjee had founded the party in 1998 and herself had designed the symbol. During the press conference, she said that the party was set up after a long struggle and the party was 29 years old when the symbol and name was snatched away from her.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction said that they saved Trinamool symbol from disgrace. “This is a temporary decision for the bypoll. Grass and twin flower symbol will remain be with us. We have saved this symbol from disgrace. We have accepted what ECI directed us. We have faith in the agency,” said the Opposition Chief Whip Akhruzamman, who is key member of the faction.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and State party president Samik Bhattacharya said that it was divine intervention that Mamata Banerjee has lost her party’s symbol and name.
“This was a decision by the Election Commission. She was unable to keep her party together, BJP does not have any direct role in this. In the coming days no matter who survives, these people (Trinamool) will not survive because whoever becomes boastful will face consequences from God,” Mr. Adhikari said.
The bypolls for Nandigram and Rejinagar are scheduled on October 6.
Published – September 18, 2026 11:37 pm IST
