KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress on Monday unveiled a new logo featuring its interim election symbol — a football player — and directed its leaders and elected representatives to popularise it ahead of the upcoming bypolls.

The logo places a football player at the centre, with the words “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” written in white against a blue background. Touches of saffron, white and green have also been incorporated into the design.

The move comes days after the Election Commission froze the use of the All India Trinamool Congress name and its traditional “flowers and grass” (Jora Ghas Phul) symbol amid an internal dispute over control of the party. 

On September 17, the poll panel, while hearing the rival claims over the Trinamool Congress, ordered that neither faction would be permitted to use the party's existing name and symbol pending a substantive determination of the dispute.

The decision came on the last day of nominations for the bypolls, prompting the EC to ask the factions to suggest alternative names and free symbols so that the electoral process could proceed.

A day later, the Commission gave the two groups their temporary identities to the two factions for the October 6 bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar.

The Mamata faction has been given the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the “football player” symbol, while the rival group, led by Arup Roy, has been allotted “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the “envelope” symbol.

Party sources said all office-bearers, leaders, workers and elected representatives have been asked to circulate the new logo widely so that voters can quickly associate it with the faction. The choice of the football player symbol is linked to Mamata Banerjee’s 2021 Assembly election campaign slogan “Khela Hobe” (The Game is On), during which she extensively used football imagery.

With just over a fortnight left for the bypolls, the Mamata camp is racing to build recognition for its new electoral identity after temporarily losing the party’s long-familiar name and symbol.