West Bengal by-elections to test Trinamool rival groups’ claim over party symbol

With by-elections for two Assembly constituencies in West Bengal -Nandigram and Rejinagar- scheduled on October 6, both factions of Trinamool Congress -one led by Mamata Banerjee and the other by Ritabrata Banerjee- have decided to field candidates on both the seats.

However, the question is making rounds in the political circles: who will get the “ grass and twin-flowers’ symbol of Trinamool Congress in the upcoming by-elections.

“We will contest the by-polls. At the time of filing nominations, we will state that our candidates are from the Trinamool Congress and claim the twin-flower symbol. If the Election Commission does not allot the symbol to us by the deadline, our candidates will contest as independents,” Opposition Chief Whip in the West Bengal Assembly Akhruzzaman said on Wednesday (September 9, 2026).

Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, Akhruzzaman and the majority of the MLAs of the Trinamool Congress had moved away from Mamata Banerjee weeks after the 2026 Assembly poll debacle. 80 MLAs of the Trinamool Congress were elected to the 18th West Bengal Assembly on May 4, 2026, and more than 65 of them have turned rebels and have cut ties with Mamata Banerjee. Ritabrata Banerjee, Akhruzzaman and other leaders of the rebel faction have made representation to the ECI seeking a claim over the party symbol.

The Mamata Banerjee faction will not let the opportunity to field candidates in the by-elections go, particularly when it has only a handful of MLAs in the State Assembly. Sources in the Mamata Banerjee group say that the party will field candidates. Mamata Banerjee loyalists say that the party symbol of grass with twin flowers remains with them till the ECI decides otherwise.

There are some speculations that the party chairperson may contest from either of the two seats, though there is no official word on it. Ms. Banerjee lost to Suvendu Adhikari by a narrow margin of 1526 votes in 2021 from the Nandigram Assembly seat. Rejinagar in Murshidabad has a majority of the electorate from the Muslim community, and if all opposition parties support the Trinamool Congress chairperson, she might find her way back into the State assembly.

The by-elections have been necessitated by Suvendu Adhikari, who won from Bhabanipur and Nandigram, giving up Nandigram and Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) leader Humayun Kabir, who won from Naoda and Rejinagar, giving up Rejinagar. Suvendu Adhikari had won the Nandigram seat in the 2026 Assembly polls by a margin of 9,665 votes while Humayun Kabir had won Rejinagar seat by a margin of 58876 votes.

Mr. Kabir’s son, Golam Nabi Azad, on Wednesday (September 9, 2026) filed his nomination as a candidate for the AJUP. The last date of filing nomination for the by-elections is September 16.