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The Election Commission of India (ECI) is preparing to call both warring factions of the Trinamool Congress to its Delhi headquarters to decide which one has the right to the party’s name, election symbol, and assets of ₹876 crore as on March 31, 2025 according to the financial statement filed by the party with ECI.
The decision marks the beginning of the formal adjudication process, similar to the ones that previously decided the fate of the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the AIADMK and will determine who controls Mamata Banerjee’s three-decade-old political legacy and its iconic twin-flower symbol.
Rebel TMC leaders, claiming the support of around 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs, have declared themselves the real All India Trinamool Congress and approached ECI to stake claim over the party’s name, assets, and election symbol. Led by Ritabrata Banerjee, the newly recognised Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, the dissidents removed Mamata Banerjee as party chairperson, elected senior MLA Arup Roy in her place, formed a parallel 30-member National Working Committee, suspended Abhishek Banerjee, and displayed the party’s twin-flower symbol. Both factions have since filed competing National Working Committee (NWC) lists with ECI, each claiming legal control of the party’s name, assets, and symbol.
Also Read: TMC rebels flex muscle again, hold second councillors’ meet ahead of civic polls
Under the Election Symbols Order, 1968, ECI has the authority to adjudicate disputes arising from splits in recognised political parties, examining evidence of organisational and legislative support before deciding. “Once rival factions formally stake claim over a recognised political party, the Commission must follow the procedure laid down under Paragraph 15 of the same order. Both sides will be given a full opportunity to place documentary evidence and make their submissions before any decision is taken. The process is entirely evidence-based and guided by established legal precedents,” a senior ECI official said.
Each side will first need to submit the party’s official constitution and rules, along with proof that it is operating in accordance with them. Both factions must then produce lists of office-bearers at the national, state, and district levels, backed by appointment letters and meeting minutes. Drawing on the precedent set in the Sadiq Ali case and applied in the AIADMK dispute, ECI typically counts affidavits from the party’s highest organisational body — its NWC or General Council — treating that body as a fair proxy for the rank and file.
Also Read: One led by Mamata, other by Ritabrata: How EC’s ‘two-wing test’ will decide which faction is Trinamool Congress
Legislative and parliamentary support forms the next critical strand, with each faction required to furnish affidavits from individual MLAs and MPs affirming their allegiance — the factor that proved decisive in both the Shiv Sena and NCP rulings. Both sides must also explain the sequence of events leading to the split, including resolutions and removals such as Mamata Banerjee’s ouster as chairperson, before being given the opportunity to file objections challenging each other’s documents and claims. The process culminates in an oral hearing where representatives present arguments directly to ECI.
In the AIADMK dispute following Jayalalithaa’s death, facing an imminent by-election, ECI first froze the party symbol and gave both factions temporary names — a freeze that stops either side from using the established mark while the dispute runs. The twin-flower symbol is expected to remain similarly locked until ECI delivers its final verdict.
ECI has three broad options: recognise one faction outright if it has overwhelming support; freeze the symbol and direct both groups to contest under temporary symbols if neither has a clear majority; or, if the split is deemed irreversible, recognise both factions as separate parties. Under Paragraph 15 of the order, ECI’s eventual ruling carries the name and reserved symbol and binds both sides, though it settles the symbol alone and does not by itself hand over party offices, bank accounts, or other assets.
The TMC dispute closely echoes the 2022-2023 Shiv Sena split, where ECI ultimately awarded the party name and “bow and arrow” symbol to Eknath Shinde’s faction based largely on legislative majority. The rebels’ strongest card is similarly legislative — the Bengal Assembly Speaker recognised their leadership after they demonstrated the support of 58 of 80 MLAs, numbers that mirror those that decided both the Shiv Sena and NCP cases. But legislative majority alone is not the final word; the Commission’s ruling is forward-looking on which faction constitutes the party, while questions of defection remain separately with the Speaker.
Legal battles on a separate front — including the rebels’ recognition as Leader of Opposition, which the Calcutta high court has so far declined to stay — remain pending, with the next high court hearing scheduled for July 28.
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