Congress, CJP back Mamata as she losses symbol, party name

Mamata Banerjee has gained the support of the Congress, a few opposition parties, and also the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) as the Election Commission of India (ECI) froze the name and symbol of her party, Trinomul Congress.
The Commission on Thursday barred both factions, the Mamata Banerjee-led
faction and the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction of the party, from using the party symbol and name in the coming Assembly bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal scheduled on 6 October.
After defecting from the Congress, Mamata set up the Trinamool Congress with the symbol of grass and twin flowers about 28 years ago, in 1998. She defeated the Left Front government in the 2011 Assembly polls and was chief minister of West Bengal for 15 years before losing out to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2026 Assembly polls, The Hindu reported.
Leader of the Opposition in the Indian Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi criticised the ECI and said that the fight is not just Mamata Banerjee's fight. "It's the fight of every political party, every voter who wants free and fair elections," Rahul Gandhi posted on social media.
The Congress leader said that when an entire party can be stolen, it's hardly surprising that the votes of millions of Indians can be stolen too.
In 1997, the BJP was the happiest with Mamata’s decision to quit the Congress and float her own party. Twenty-nine years later the BJP is happy with the political outcome of its former ally-turned-rival.

“The commission announced its order after hearing both sides. She could not keep her flock together. 
The party has disintegrated into more than two outfits. She is responsible. The BJP had no role to play here. I will repeat what I had said earlier in Haldia (on 4 May, the day of counting of votes for the Bengal Assembly polls): Pride cometh before a fall. Whoever displays arrogance will fall,” said Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the Bengal Assembly, where an event was held to commemorate the birth centenary of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
Mamata, who has fought many political battles and overcome tough challenges in her chequered career, also found support from the fledgling Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is not yet a political party, the Telegraph India reported.
“The Election Commission of India has become a government stooge. Time for its commissioner to pay is coming very soon,” said Saurav Das, the co-convenor of CJP.
The CJP official handle on X concurred with Das. “Yes. Soon announced.”
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that her party will support the Congress candidate in the Nandigram Assembly and Assam Lok Sabha bypolls.
She made this announcement after the candidate of Mamata All India Trinamool Congress, Sanchita Pradhan (Dey), withdrew her nomination from the Nandigram Assembly seat, leaving her party without a candidate in Nandigram.
Pradhan (Dey) took the decision after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari late on Thursday evening. Later in the evening, Congress candidate from Nandigram, Milan Pradhan, was arrested by the police.

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