The Election Commission, after a week of internal turmoil, froze the Trinamool Congress name and symbol on September 14 2024, citing an unresolved factional dispute.
Under the interim order, the EC assigned the name "Mamata All India Trinamool Congress" and the "Football Player" symbol to Banerjee's faction, while the rival group received the name "Democratic Trinamool Congress" and the "Envelope" symbol.
The split erupted after the May 2024 assembly elections when rebel MLAs elected Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition, bypassing the party's senior nominee Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.
Banerjee denounced the freeze as a "black day" for democracy, likening it to a mother losing her child, and vowed to fight the interim arrangement in court.
The Supreme Court will now hear the petition; its ruling will determine whether the Trinamool Congress can reclaim its original name and symbol ahead of the October 6 bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar, where the party's identity will be on the ballot.