Kolkata16 minutes agoAuthor: Tirthankar Das
The Election Commission has finalised interim party names and election symbols for the two rival Trinamool Congress factions ahead of the upcoming Bengal bypolls.
Mamata faction gets football player symbol
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction will contest under its newly allotted identity with the football player symbol, while the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction will use the envelope symbol.
Election Commission completes interim allocation process
The Election Commission had earlier frozen the All India Trinamool Congress name and its traditional Flowers and Grass symbol amid the dispute between the two factions. Both groups were asked to submit three preferred names and symbols for consideration.
The interim arrangement comes ahead of the October 6 bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar, where candidates from both factions are set to contest.
EC decision comes ahead of Bengal bypolls
The Commission has said the larger dispute over the party’s organisational control and identity requires further determination. The new names and symbols will therefore apply as an interim electoral arrangement while the substantive dispute remains before the Election Commission.
Who will contest under which symbol?
Under the Commission’s order, candidates backed by the Arup Roy-led faction will contest as Democratic Trinamool Congress candidates using the envelope symbol.
Candidates backed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction will contest as All India Trinamool Congress candidates using the football player symbol.
Political significance
The interim order means that the two rival groups will enter the upcoming bypolls with separate names and symbols rather than using the traditional TMC identity and the Flowers and Grass symbol.
The Commission has not made a final determination on which faction is entitled to the original party name and symbol. Its present arrangement is intended only to cover the upcoming elections while the substantive dispute remains pending.
What happens next?
The focus now shifts to the main dispute before the Election Commission. The poll panel will have to examine the organisational and legal claims of both sides before taking a final decision on the party’s name and reserved symbol.
Until that determination, the traditional Flowers and Grass symbol and the original party name remain frozen for the purposes of the interim electoral arrangement.
