New Delhi/Kolkata, September 17 (TNA) The Election Commission of India has temporarily frozen the official name and reserved election symbol of the All India Trinamool Congress amid an organisational dispute between two rival factions claiming control of the party.
Under its interim order, the poll panel barred both groups from using the name “All India Trinamool Congress” and the party’s reserved “Flowers and Grass” symbol in the upcoming Assembly bypolls.
The dispute is between the faction led by Mamata Banerjee and another group led by Ritabrata Banerjee, according to reports. The Election Commission will now examine the rival claims under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, before taking a final decision on the party’s name and symbol.
Separate names, symbols
The Commission has directed both factions to submit three preferred names and three free symbol choices each by 11 a.m. on September 18. The poll panel will subsequently approve one name and allot one symbol to each group for the bypolls.
The interim arrangement will remain in force until the Commission reaches a final decision on the organisational dispute. Both factions will therefore have to contest the upcoming bypolls under separately allotted names and free symbols.
Bypolls affected
The decision comes ahead of the October 6 Assembly bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar. The timing of the order is significant as the nomination process for the bypolls has already intensified the dispute between the two groups over the use of the Trinamool name and symbol.
The Election Commission had held hearings with representatives of both factions and sought additional documents supporting their claims. The panel’s latest order follows those hearings and temporarily prevents either side from claiming exclusive use of the party’s established electoral identity.
The final decision under Paragraph 15 will determine which faction, if any, is entitled to retain the Trinamool Congress name and the “Flowers and Grass” symbol. Until then, the two groups will operate with separate electoral identities for the bypoll process.