Politics
‘Votes Stolen, Government Stolen, Now Party Stolen’: Rahul Gandhi Backs Mamata Banerjee After TMC Symbol Freeze
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and Election Commission of India of working together to weaken opposition parties after the poll panel temporarily barred rival Trinamool Congress factions from using the party’s name and ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol in the upcoming West Bengal bypolls.
New Delhi, September 18, 2026: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) after it froze the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) name and its reserved ‘Flowers & Grass’ election symbol amid a dispute between two rival factions of the party.
Reacting to the interim order, Gandhi alleged that the episode reflected a wider pattern in which opposition parties were being split and their electoral identities challenged. Referring to earlier disputes involving the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), he accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the poll panel of acting together. The allegation has been made by Gandhi and should not be read as an established finding against either the BJP or the ECI.
In a post on X, Gandhi summed up his criticism with the line: “Vote theft. Government theft. Now party theft.” He described the developments as signs of what he called a decline in Indian democracy and argued that protecting the electoral mandate was a constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission.
The Congress leader also extended political support to Mamata Banerjee, saying the dispute went beyond the interests of one leader or one political party. According to Gandhi, the issue concerned every political party and voter seeking free and fair elections.
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What did the Election Commission order?
The controversy stems from an interim order issued by the Election Commission on Thursday in the dispute over control of the All India Trinamool Congress.
The Commission found that there were competing claims from two groups — one led by Mamata Banerjee and another led by Arup Roy — with both asserting the right to represent the recognised political party. It said the dispute required a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Until that dispute is finally decided, neither faction can contest the current bypolls simply under the ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ name or use its reserved ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol.
The two groups were instead asked to submit three preferred names and three available election symbols, from which the Commission could approve separate identities for the bypolls. The ECI said the temporary arrangement was intended to put the rival groups on an equal footing and protect their respective rights and interests while the larger dispute remained under consideration.
Congress steps up criticism of ECI
The Congress had criticised the decision even before Gandhi’s intervention on Friday. Party leaders accused the Election Commission of stepping away from its constitutional responsibility, while also using politically charged language to link the timing of the decision to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Those remarks were Congress allegations rather than findings by the Commission.
The Election Commission, for its part, has framed the measure as an interim arrangement, not a final determination of which faction is entitled to the original party identity. Its eventual decision on the rival claims will be taken under the provisions of the 1968 Symbols Order.
The row has therefore opened another political front between the opposition and the poll body, with Rahul Gandhi tying the TMC dispute to his broader allegations over electoral processes, while the Commission’s stated position is that the temporary freeze is necessary until the competing claims can be fully adjudicated.
