Breakup kar liya! After 21 years of split, Mamata Banerjee drops off ‘Congress’ from TMC's official logo

Kolkata, March 23: As the elections nearing and the tension is escalating, there is an interesting fact about this exciting war. Yes, elections reveal the true face of the parties in spite of all citing to be connected into a ‘Mahagathbandhan’. Although the tremors in this gathbandhan is quite evident and vivid now, still parties try to keep it like ‘its all good between us’.

 

On an interesting note, twenty-one years after officially separating from the Congress, Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has removed the grand old party's name from its logo. The new logo has Trinamool written in green with twin flowers and blue background. It has been in use for a week now.

It was way back in 1998 that present West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee broke away from the Congress and formed the TMC over differences of opinion on dealing with the then ruling CPI(M). "TMC is called Trinamool and after 21 years, it was time for change," a party leader said. The Congress name has been dropped from party banners, posters and all communication material. However, it will remain registered with the Election Commission as Trinamool Congress, party sources said. The official Facebook and Twitter pages of the party, the CM, her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, and Trinamool's leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O Brien already have the new logo.

Trinamool Congress had been formed by Mamata Banerjee in January 1998 following a split with the INC because of the perception that the latter was treating the then ruling party of the state, Communist Party of India (Marxist), in a ‘soft’ manner.

The party is now also looking to expand its influence beyond West Bengal, and is thus fielding candidates for Lok Sabha seats in the neighbouring states of Assam and Jharkhand; the name change will help solidify its separate identity from the INC in these new areas.