# Supreme Court grants TMC factions 20 more days in symbol dispute

2026-10-26T11:58:32+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

The Supreme Court on Monday, 26 October 2026, gave the rival Trinamool Congress factions 10 days each, in sequence, to file their submissions before the Election Commission of India. The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana heard senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee for the Mamata Banerjee-led faction and senior advocate K. Parmeswar for the Ritabrata Banerjee faction. The Ritabrata Banerjee faction had sought the extension, citing Dussehra festivities that prevented it from obtaining stamp papers needed for documents. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction opposed the extension request. The court directed the Ritabrata Banerjee faction to file its counter affidavit within 10 days and gave the other side a further 10 days to respond. Both sides may contest the admissibility of documents before the poll panel. The Election Commission had on September 17 allotted the Mamata faction the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the football player symbol, and the rival faction the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the envelope symbol. The ECI must decide the name and symbol dispute within three months of the completion of all pleadings.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

The Supreme Court has granted both Trinamool Congress factions 10 days each, sequentially, to complete their pleadings before the Election Commission. The order extends deadlines that were set in September to expire today (Monday, 26 October 2026). Orissa POST reports the Mamata Banerjee-led faction opposed the rival camp’s request for more time, India Today also notes this opposition. The extension was granted after the Ritabrata Banerjee faction cited Dussehra festivities as a reason for delay, a detail India Today provides that Orissa POST omits. Both sources uniformly report the court’s clarification that it expressed no opinion on the merits and that either side may contest document admissibility before the ECI. The dispute moves next to the Election Commission, which must decide within three months after pleadings are complete.

## Coverage

Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
- orissapost.com (neutral report) <https://www.orissapost.com/sc-extends-timeline-for-pleadings-in-trinamool-symbol-dispute/>
  Emphasises the Mamata faction's opposition to extension and anti-defection angle
- indiatoday.in (neutral report) <https://www.indiatoday.in/india/law-news/story/supreme-court-grants-tmc-factions-20-more-days-in-name-symbol-dispute-ptag-3025335-2026-10-26?utm_source=rss>
  Leads with sequential deadlines, attributes delay to Dussehra festivities

This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.

Tags: Election Commission of India, Kalyan Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee, Ritabrata Banerjee, Supreme Court, Trinamool Congress
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