Archive · 18 Sep 2026
BJP Rebuts Rahul Gandhi’s Claim Over Trinamool Party Split
Rahul Gandhi said the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission of India were helping break opposition parties.
He was reacting to an interim order involving the All India Trinamool Congress.
The order froze the party’s name and “Flowers and Grass” election symbol for upcoming West Bengal bypolls.
Gandhi said this was part of a wider pattern involving Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju rejected that accusation.
He said the Congress party had itself produced parties such as the Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also criticised Gandhi’s comments.
The two sides therefore disagree about who is responsible for weakening political parties and whether the election order reflects a wider democratic problem.
Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and Election Commission of India of helping split opposition parties.
Gandhi criticised an interim order freezing the All India Trinamool Congress name and “Flowers and Grass” symbol.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Congress party, not the BJP, had broken and weakened other parties.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party emerged from the Congress party.
The dispute follows concerns over the order ahead of West Bengal bypolls and allegations of “party theft.”
- Who
- Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Congress party.
- What
- A political dispute over allegations that the BJP and Election Commission of India help split opposition parties, following an interim order affecting the All India Trinamool Congress.
- When
- Friday; the order concerns upcoming West Bengal bypolls.
- Where
- New Delhi, with implications for bypolls in West Bengal.
- Why
- Rahul Gandhi criticised the Election Commission of India’s interim order, while BJP leaders rejected his allegations and argued that parties such as the Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party emerged from the Congress party.
Rahul Gandhi and Congress
Bharatiya Janata Party
Responsibility for party splits
Rahul Gandhi and Congress
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the BJP and Election Commission of India repeatedly work together to split opposition parties, citing Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the All India Trinamool Congress.
Bharatiya Janata Party
Kiren Rijiju and Sudhanshu Trivedi rejected the claim, saying the Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party were formed by breaking away from the Congress party.
Meaning of the Election Commission order
Rahul Gandhi and Congress
Gandhi said freezing the All India Trinamool Congress name and symbol represented “party theft” and reflected democratic decline.
Bharatiya Janata Party
The BJP’s response focused on rejecting Gandhi’s accusations and did not accept his characterization of the interim order as evidence of democratic decline.
- Disputed order
- An interim order froze the All India Trinamool Congress name and “Flowers and Grass” symbol.
- Election context
- The order relates to upcoming West Bengal bypolls.
- Rahul Gandhi’s allegation
- He said the BJP and Election Commission of India were jointly splitting opposition parties.
- Kiren Rijiju’s response
- He accused the Congress party of breaking and burning other parties.
- BJP’s argument
- BJP leaders said the Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party emerged from the Congress party.
- Broader allegation
- Gandhi described the dispute as part of “party theft,” alongside alleged vote and government theft.