BJP counters Rahul Gandhi's claim TMC was split by the Election Commission

Rahul Gandhi took to X to allege that the BJP and the Election Commission were colluding to split the Trinamool Congress after the poll symbol and name were temporarily frozen. In response, BJP national spokesperson Dr Sudhanshu Trivedi pointed out that the TMC, along with Shiv Sena and NCP, originated from splits with the Congress party, suggesting Gandhi’s criticism was misplaced. The Election Commission has recently allocated distinct names and symbols to the two TMC factions contesting upcoming by-polls: the Mamata-led group received the ‘football player’ symbol under the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’, while the Ritabrata-led camp was given an ‘envelope’ symbol as ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’.

The dispute follows internal rebellion after the TMC’s defeat in the West Bengal assembly election, which saw 57 members defect to support Ritabrata Banerjee. Gandhi’s tweet also linked the alleged pattern of party splits to broader concerns about electoral fairness.