New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has frozen the symbol and name of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in an interim order passed Thursday, taking note of the rival groups in the party—one led by Mamata Banerjee and another by Arup Roy.
The decision comes less than 20 days before the bye-elections in Rejinagar and Nandigram constituencies necessitated by the resignations of Humayun Kabir and Suvendu Adhikari. The elections to the two constituencies in southern Bengal are scheduled for 6 October.
Neither of the groups can now use the party’s name or its reserved “Flowers & Grass” symbol for the upcoming bye-elections, pending a final determination of the organisational dispute.
The 14-page order, issued Thursday, says, “On due consideration of the totality of information available on record with the Commission…the Commission is of the opinion that there are two rival groups in All India Trinamool Congress, one led by Ms. Mamata Banerjee and the other led by Shri Arup Roy, and each group is now claiming to be the party and therefore the matter requires a substantive determination by the Commission under Para 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order 1968.”
Accordingly, in order to place both the rival groups on an “even keel and to protect their rights and interests, and going by the past precedence,” the Commission passed an interim order for the purpose of bye-elections.
This order will remain in effect till the dispute is settled.
Neither of the two groups are permitted to use the name ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ by itself, nor can they use the symbol ‘flowers and grass’ reserved for the Trinamool Congress.
“Both the groups shall be known by such names as they may choose for their respective groups, including, if they so desire, linkage with their parent party ‘All India Trinamool Congress’,” reads the order.
Both the groups have been directed to furnish by 11 am Friday, the names by which they may be recognised by Commission for the time being. They have to give three options in order of preference, any one of which may be approved by the Commission. The groups also have to submit names of three free symbols, in the order of their preference, to the Commission.
The Commission heard the delegations from both the factions Thursday.
In its order, it noted that the time available was not adequate to complete the proceedings under Para 15 of the Symbols Order.
“However, the Commission takes note of the urgency involved with regard to use of party symbol and party name in the ongoing by-elections,” it said.
Para 15 says that when the ECI is satisfied that there are rival sections or groups of a recognised political party each of whom claims to be that party, the Commission may decide that one such rival section or group or none of such rival sections or groups is that recognised political party. ECI can do so after taking into account all the available facts and circumstances of the case and hearing such representatives of the sections or groups and other persons who want to be heard.
The ECI’s decision shall be binding on all such rival sections or groups.
Responding to the interim order, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal wrote on X that freezing of the party name and symbol “after a blatantly unconstitutional hijack by the BJP—is CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s late night birthday gift to Modi ji.”
“Those who fought against the BJP, under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership, are now being given the red carpet to rebel against her and commit the unconstitutional sin of defection with the ECI’s help. The ECI has one again proven that it is nothing more than a puppet in the hands of the BJP—a tool to destroy democracy bit by bit,” he wrote.
Referring to the split in Shiv Sena and NCP, the senior Congress leader wrote that “whoever opposes the BJP is dealt a fatal blow and their entire electoral existence is snatched away from them.” Condemning the move, he demanded that the ECI must immediately restore the symbol to the faction led by Mamata Banerjee.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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