On Friday, September 18, 2026, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the Election Commission for directing rival factions of the All India Trinamool Congress not to use the party name or the flowers and grass symbol in the upcoming West Bengal by‑polls.
Gandhi posted a Hindi statement on X, arguing that the poll body, whose constitutional duty is to safeguard the electorate’s verdict, was instead helping forces that overturn that verdict. He wrote that when an entire party can be stripped of its identity, the theft of millions of votes becomes unsurprising.
The leader highlighted a pattern he sees repeated across Indian politics: first Shiv Sena, then the Nationalist Congress Party, and now Trinamool Congress. Each time, he said, the Bharatiya Janata Party teams up with the Election Commission to split a party and seize its election symbol.
The Congress party condemned the EC decision as an abandonment of its constitutional responsibility. It described the freeze on the Trinamool name and symbol as a “late night birthday gift” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the interim order issued Thursday night, the Commission heard representatives of the two factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy. Finding two rival groups claiming the same party, the EC invoked Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968 and asked both sides to submit alternative names and symbols by Friday morning. The order will remain in effect until a final determination is made.
Gandhi framed the dispute as more than a regional tussle, calling it a battle for every political party and voter who demands free and fair elections. He warned that the erosion of party identities signals a broader democratic decline in the country.
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📰 Source: Siasat Gulf