Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has frozen, for the time being, the name “All India Trinamool Congress” and its “Flowers and Grass” symbol, ruling that neither of the two rival factions within the party can use them in the upcoming Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls scheduled for October 6.
Two Factions, One Party
The dispute pits a faction led by former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee against another led by Ritabrata Banerjee, with both sides staking claim to the party’s identity. In an interim order dated September 17, the poll body said the freeze was meant to “place both the rival groups on even keel and to protect their rights and interests,” pointing to precedents in similar disputes. With the order, the Commission has effectively acknowledged that two rival groups within the party are contesting its ownership.
New Names, New Symbols By Friday
Under the interim arrangement, both factions are free to contest under names of their own choosing, including retaining a reference to the parent party “All India Trinamool Congress” if they wish, and must pick fresh symbols from the Election Commission’s list of free symbols for the bypolls. Each group has been directed to submit three preferred names and three preferred symbols to the Commission by 11 am on September 18. The Commission noted that a “substantive determination” under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, is still required to settle which faction is entitled to the original name and symbol, and that the interim order will hold until that decision is made.
