TMC name and symbol frozen: Mamata, Ritabrata factions get new identities

The Election Commission has assigned new names and symbols to the rival Trinamool Congress factions for the October 6 West Bengal bypolls. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction will contest as the ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ with a football-player symbol, while the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction will use the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and an envelope symbol. The decision follows the ECI’s interim freeze on the original party name and ‘grass and twin flowers’ symbol amid the ongoing dispute between the two factions.