New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee seems to see red every time she encounters the saffron party. In her bid to root it out, she has transformed the Trinamool Congress logo. The new logo comprises of Trinamool written in green with two flowers and a blue background. Blue is Mamata Banerjee's favourite colour, and she has made flyovers that lead to government buildings blue colour for years now.

What is also significant is the deliberate choice of not using the word Congress in the logo. Ahead of the 2019 general elections, TMC and Congress will be against each other, in spite of being a part of Mahagathbandhan. The flower petals which were tricolour are no longer so. 

The name 'Trinamool’ is in a dark dash of green, written in Bengali. There is a mild touch of saffron at one corner, so insignificant that one tends to miss it. The logo has a new slogan written in Bengali, "Amar, apnar, Banglar' (Mine, yours, of Bengal). Very interestingly the font size of 'Banglar' is bigger and in bold. It's a subtle message that TMC  wants to pander to the Bengali sentiment, ahead of an election where the TMC is actively trying to project BJP as a party of outsiders. 

However, it will remain registered with the Election Commission as Trinamool Congress. But with all election material, the new logo will be used. The official Facebook and Twitter pages of the party, the chief minister, her nephew Abhishek Banerjee are already using the new logo.

Bengal has been witnessing a sudden spate of saffron rush. Many ultra-right organisations have mushroomed and have made the colour saffron 'an in thing' in a Bengal that always liked subtlety. Events like Ram Nabami, that were unheard of in Bengal till a couple of years back are now celebrated with much fanfare. It could be a step by Mamata to not only disown a colour appropriated by BJP, but also shed the name of her other competitor, Congress.