---
title: "‘Vote Theft, Government Theft, Now Party Theft’: Rahul Gandhi Criticises EC Over TMC Name and Symbol Freeze"
english_title: "Rahul Gandhi Criticises EC Over TMC Name and Symbol Freeze"
publisher: "Truevision English News"
canonical_url: "https://english.truevisionnews.com/news/383273/rahul-gandhi-criticises-ec-tmc-name-symbol-freeze"
published_at: "2026-09-18T12:38:00+05:30"
category: "Big Story"
language: "en"
image: "https://cf.zdn.im/img/truevisionnews.com/0/image-uploads/6aace449dbe56_rahul-gandhi-criticises-ec-tmc-name-symbol-freeze.jpg"
keywords: ["Rahul Gandhi", "Trinamool Congress", "TMC", "Election Commission", "Mamata Banerjee", "West Bengal Bypolls"]
---

# ‘Vote Theft, Government Theft, Now Party Theft’: Rahul Gandhi Criticises EC Over TMC Name and Symbol Freeze

> **Lead Summary:** **New Delhi: **Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has criticised the Election Commission’s decision to bar the Trinamool Congress from using its party name and election symbol in the upcoming West Bengal bypolls. Rahul Gandhi alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission are working together to split political parties. He made the remarks in a post shared on X.

## Article Content

**New Delhi: **Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has criticised the Election Commission’s decision to bar the Trinamool Congress from using its party name and election symbol in the upcoming West Bengal bypolls. Rahul Gandhi alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission are working together to split political parties. He made the remarks in a post shared on X.

> Rahul Gandhi said the TMC was facing a situation similar to what happened with the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party. “First Shiv Sena, then NCC, and now Trinamool Congress. The same pattern every time. The BJP and the Election Commission join hands to split a party, and then take away its election symbol,” Rahul Gandhi said.

> He further said that if an entire political party could be “stolen”, it would not be surprising if the votes of crores of Indians could also be stolen. He criticised the developments by saying that “vote theft, government theft, and now party theft” had become symbols of the decline of democracy in the country.

Rahul Gandhi also said that protecting the people’s mandate is the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission. However, he alleged that the Commission was instead helping forces that undermine the popular mandate.

According to Rahul Gandhi, the issue was not merely Mamata Banerjee’s fight. He said it was a fight involving every political party and every voter who wants free and fair elections.

The Election Commission had issued an interim order after determining that there was a split between the factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy. The Commission stated that neither faction would be permitted to use the Trinamool Congress name or symbol until the dispute is finally resolved.

As a result, both factions will contest the bypolls using new names and different symbols allotted by the Commission until a final decision is reached. The Election Commission’s interim arrangement concerns the upcoming West Bengal bypolls.

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