The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday ordered the freezing of the “name” and “symbol” of the Trinamool Congress as a political party for the time being, affecting both factions of the party.
Earlier reporting noted: The order signals a major shift in Bengal politics after 28 years. For the first time since Jan 1998, when Mamata broke away from Congress to form her own party, neither the name ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ nor its flowers-and-grass symbol will feature on EVMs in Bengal.
The two factions are the “original but minority” faction led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee and the “rebel but majority” faction led by expelled party legislator Ritabrata Banerjee. Both factions have been asked to inform the Commission of their newly chosen “names” and “symbols” by 11 a.m. on Friday, according to the ECI order released on Thursday night. Speaking to the media, Banerjee said his faction was not accepting the order. “We are confident that finally, we will have the right over the party name and symbol,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: EC’s 14-page order reasoned that an interim order was necessary because “the time available is not adequate to complete the proceedings under Para 15 of the Symbols Order”, given that the bypolls are less than three weeks away. Stating that the claims by the rival blocs required a “substantive determination”, the EC order said the interim decision would “cover the purpose of the current bye-elections and continue till the final determination of the dispute”.
The ECI order means that neither the Mamata Banerjee-led faction nor the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction can use the party’s name or symbol in any election until the Commission takes a final decision on the matter. Reacting to the order, Kalyan Banerjee, a four-time Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member and the most prominent political and legal face of the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, described the decision as unconstitutional. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress legislator Akhruzzaman, the official Chief Whip of the party’s legislative group in the West Bengal Assembly, welcomed the ECI’s decision. The party, which governed the state for a decade and a half, was trounced by BJP in this year’s assembly polls, leading to a split in the once formidable organisation.
Earlier reporting noted: EC freezes TMC name & symbol, asks rival camps for options Kolkata: Election Commission on Thursday issued an interim order freezing the name ‘ All India Trinamool Congress ’ and the party’s ‘flowers and grass’ symbol.
