New Delhi, Sept. 18 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday restrained rival factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from using the party name and symbol during the West Bengal bypolls to Rejinagar and Nandigram assembly constituencies, and asked both sides to submit alternative names and symbols by 11 am on Friday. ECI, however, deferred a final ruling on which of the two factions is the genuine TMC. The interim order, issued on Thursday night, came after ECI heard both camps in back-to-back sittings at Nirvachan Sadan. First a delegation led by Arup Roy, representing the faction headed by Bengal legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, met the poll panel at 3pm, followed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction represented by Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee at 4pm. The order said the matter requires substantive determination by the poll body under provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968, and that the exercise could not be completed before the October 6 bypolls. The order noted the urgency to hear the case stemmed from rival factions already filing nominations for the by-elections to Rejinagar and Nandigram seats in Bengal, as well as Nagaon in Assam. "Neither of the two groups . shall be permitted to use the name of the party," ECI said. "Neither of the two groups shall also be permitted to use the symbol 'Flowers and Grass', reserved for 'All India Trinamool Congress'." The poll panel asked both factions "to furnish, latest by 11 AM on 18.09.2026: The names of their groups by which they may be recognised by the commission and, to this end, give three options in order of preference, any one of which may be approved by the commission and the symbols which may be allotted to the candidates set up, if any, by the respective groups". Both factions are contesting to retain the party's name and symbols following a bitter split in the TMC following poll loss to the BJP in the West Bengal assembly elections in May this year. Both factions claim to be the real TMC, and a decision to that end is pending before the poll panel. While Ritabrata Banerjee exuded confidence that ECI's decision will be in favour of his camp, Kalyan Banerjee accused him of siding with Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and wondered how can someone who joined the party only in 2023 claim the TMC symbol....