Why it is in the news
On 17 September 2026 the Election Commission of India (ECI) passed an interim order recording that “there are two rival groups in All India Trinamool Congress, one led by Ms. Mamata Banerjee and the other led by Shri Arup Roy, and each group is now claiming to be the party”. The Commission froze both the party name All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and its reserved symbol Flowers & Grass for the coming by-elections, and allotted interim identities instead — Mamata All India Trinamool Congress with the Football Player symbol, and Democratic Trinamool Congress with the Envelope symbol.
The exam angle
Issue: Should the ownership of a political party's name and symbol after a split be settled by an administrative headcount before the Election Commission, or does the question demand a judicial or statutory mechanism with fuller procedural safeguards?