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Rahul Gandhi Calls Mamata After EC Freezes TMC Name, Symbol; Discusses United Alliance
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News18•18-09-2026, 17:05
Rahul Gandhi Calls Mamata After EC Freezes TMC Name, Symbol; Discusses United Alliance
- •Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition, spoke with Mamata Banerjee after the ECI froze the Trinamool Congress' name and election symbol for upcoming bypolls.
- •During the late-night call, Gandhi offered support to Banerjee and discussed the possibility of a united alliance.
- •Banerjee expressed her desire for Bengal to lead a united INDIA bloc to oust BJP, stating, "We are in this together. We want the BJP to be removed."
- •Banerjee announced support for the Congress candidate in the Nandigram bypoll after her faction's candidate, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew.
- •The ECI allotted "Mamata All India Trinamool Congress" with "Football Player" symbol to Mamata's faction and "Democratic Trinamool Congress" with "Envelope" to Ritabrata Banerjee's faction.
Key Questions Answered
The Election Commission issued an interim order temporarily barring rival factions from using the Trinamool Congress name and its reserved symbol due to an internal party dispute requiring substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols Order, 1968.
Following the poll panel directive, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction was allotted the name "Mamata All India Trinamool Congress" along with the "Football Player" election symbol.
Rahul Gandhi slammed the Election Commission's decision, alleging that the BJP and the poll panel were following a repeated pattern of splitting political parties and snatching away their symbols.
