Former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress founder Mamata Banerjee has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s decision to freeze the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) name and its reserved ‘Flowers & Grass’ election symbol.

The writ petition was filed on September 18, with the Election Commission of India and rival faction leader Ritabrata Banerjee among the respondents. The plea challenges the poll panel’s interim order that barred both rival factions from using the original party name and symbol for the upcoming by-elections.

The Election Commission, in its September 17 order, said it had identified two rival groups claiming to represent the All India Trinamool Congress, one led by Mamata Banerjee and the other by the rival faction. The Commission said a substantive determination of the competing claims would be undertaken separately under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

As an interim arrangement for the upcoming by-elections, the Election Commission has allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Football Player’ symbol to the faction led by Mamata Banerjee. The rival faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has been allotted the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Envelope’ symbol.

The arrangement applies to the upcoming by-elections, including the contests in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal, scheduled for October 6. The Commission’s order is interim and does not amount to a final ruling on which faction is entitled to the original AITC name and ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol.

The Supreme Court petition brings the dispute over the party’s identity and electoral symbol before the judiciary, while the Election Commission’s substantive proceedings under Paragraph 15 remain pending.