Mamata Banerjee moves SC challenging EC freeze on TMC name, symbol

Mamata Banerjee has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission's decision to freeze the Trinamool Congress' name and reserved symbol amid a factional dispute. The EC allotted separate names and symbols to the rival groups ahead of October 6 bypolls.

New Delhi: Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission’s decision to freeze the Trinamool Congress’ name and party symbol amid a dispute between two rival factions of the TMC.

The Election Commission on Friday allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival factions following its interim decision a day earlier to bar both groups from using the ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ name and its reserved symbol pending a substantive determination of the dispute.

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In its interim order issued on Thursday night, the poll panel, after hearing leaders of the two factions led by Banerjee and Arup Roy, said the matter requires substantive determination by the poll body under the provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

In her plea filed in the apex court, Banerjee has made the Election Commission and Ritabrata Banerjee, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, party respondents.

On September 18, Banerjee attacked the EC over its decision to freeze the Trinamool Congress’ name and ‘Jora Ghash Phul’ symbol, likening the loss of the party’s identity to the pain of a mother losing her child and calling it a “black day” in the country’s democratic history.

Banerjee had said she would not accept the interim arrangement as a settlement and vowed to fight till the end to reclaim the party’s original identity and its ‘flowers-and-grass’ symbol politically, democratically and legally.

Her statements came hours after the poll panel allotted her faction the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Football Player’ symbol for the October 6 bypolls to Nandigram and Rejinagar.

The rival faction led by Arup Roy was allotted the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Envelope’ symbol.

Assembly bypolls to Nandigram in East Medinipur district and Rejinagar in Murshidabad district are scheduled for October 6, with vote counting on October 9.

The bypolls in West Bengal were necessitated as Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari won from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, and chose to vacate Nandigram, while AJUP leader Humayun Kabir won from both Naoda and Rejinagar, and decided to give up the Rejinagar seat.

The EC order comes in the aftermath of a rebellion in the TMC legislature party after the Assembly poll defeat in May, which later spread to Parliament.

In June, 58 rebel MLAs elected expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly instead of the Mamata camp nominee, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, and secured recognition from the Speaker, marking the party’s first split in its 28-year history.

Five days later, the revolt reached Parliament, with 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar joining the little-known NCPI and writing to Speaker Om Birla, backing the BJP-led NDA as a “separate bloc”, deepening the rupture in the party’s parliamentary ranks.