Football will get deflated: Himanta Sarma mocks Team Mamata's new poll symbol

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday took a swipe at Mamata Banerjee after the Election Commission froze the Trinamool Congress name and symbol following a factional feud and allotted her group the 'Football Player' symbol. Referring to the development, Sarma said, "The football will get deflated."

His remarks came as the Mamata Banerjee-led faction was given the name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress', while the rival group led by Arup Roy got the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress', ahead of the October 6 bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in West Bengal.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, who visited Madhupur in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district, said Mamata Banerjee would never be able to return to power in the state and would have to sit on the sidelines while development work was carried out under the stewardship of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

"The football will get deflated. Wait for two days; Mamata didi will be nowhere. Now, CM Adhikari will carry out development works, and Mamata will sit and watch how development is done," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, ahead of the Nandigram bypoll, Congress nominee Milan Pradhan was arrested on the basis of four 19-year-old pending arrest warrants linked to serious offences allegedly committed during the 2007 agitation against land acquisition in the region. Hours before his arrest, Mamata Banerjee had extended her faction's support to the Congress in Nandigram after her own nominee, Sanchita Pradhan Dey, withdrew from the contest.

Himanta Sarma defended the arrest, calling it the police's duty. He also claimed that Rahul Gandhi had allowed a murder accused to take part in the electoral process.

"What kind of a candidate will you call him? I have read in the newspapers that two or three murder cases were registered against him in 2007. When such matters come to light, the police will definitely have to arrest him as it is their duty," he said in response to Gandhi terming the arrest as "targeting the opposition" and "murder of democracy".

In the Rejinagar seat, Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, the candidate of the Banerjee-led TMC faction, announced his withdrawal from the polls, citing pressure on party workers and difficulties linked to contesting under the faction's new electoral symbol. He reversed the decision within hours after speaking to the TMC supremo, as the bypoll campaign continued amid the split in the party and the row over the arrests.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 19, 2026 23:09 IST