Politics
The Election Commission of India has frozen the Trinamool Congress name and ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol for the October 6 bypolls, assigning separate interim designations to factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy. Amid an urgent Supreme Court challenge by the party supremo, an emerging Congress-Mamata alignment has prompted the resignation of Trinamool’s Nandigram nominee.
The upcoming October 6 by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar have turned into a crucial referendum on Bengal’s political ground reality. While the BJP seeks to consolidate its hold, the contest between Mamata Banerjee’s loyalists and Ritabrata Banerjee’s dissident bloc will decide who commands actual public support as the state’s true opposition voice.
The fight for control of the Trinamool Congress reached the Election Commission of India on Thursday as rival camps led by Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee staked claim to the party name and symbol. With high-profile by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar scheduled for October 6, the ECI’s imminent verdict will determine which faction enters the fray as the authentic TMC.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to meet 20 Lok Sabha MPs of Nationalist Citizens Party Of India (NCPI), who parted away from the TMC.
The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill to replace an ordinance that increased the number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38 without a debate as opposition members persisted with slogan-shouting over the issues of NEET paper leak and alleged theft of Ram temple donations.
Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the
Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to accord Vande Mataram the same statutory protection as the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday witnessed an acrimonious debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 as the government defended the tougher law as necessary deterrent while the Opposition dismissed it as a belated attempt to salvage the Centre’s credibility after the NEET paper leak controversy.
The week-long stalemate in the Lok Sabha seems to be headed for a breakthrough, with the Opposition agreeing to participate in the debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill 2026, on Tuesday, after a day of hard bargaining between the government and Opposition.
Tuesday witnessed unprecedented drama, dharna and detentions as the Opposition upped the ante against the government over the crackdown on student protesters.
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