“On due consideration of the totality of information available on record… the commission is of the opinion that there are two rival groups in the All India Trinamool Congress, one led by Ms. Mamata Banerjee and the other led by Shri Arup Roy,” the EC interim order said.
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“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,” it added.
The EC Decision is in keeping with part trends and positions taken on symbol disputes- particularly when faced with bypolls.
The poll panel has largely chosen to freeze the disputed party symbol and grant temporary free symbols in case of bypolls.
Also Read: New vulnerable areas, deployment discussed at Manipur security reviewAccordingly, in a late evening order, the EC said that both the Ritabrata and Mamata Banerjee factions may choose other party/ factions. names from three ‘free’ symbols for the purpose of the upcoming bye elections.
September 16 was the last day for filing nominations for fraught the October 6 bypolls in West Bengal in Nandigram and Rejinagar.
Both the Ritabrata and Mamata Banerjee fractions- locked in a battle for the twin-flower symbol- ‘Jora Ghash Phool’- are contesting the bypoll which is also the first electoral test for both after the party split following the assembly elections that ousted TMC from power after 15 years.
The two seats were vacated by incumbent Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Humayun Kabir respectively as they retained Bhabanipur and Nowda seats which they won concurrently.
The bypoll necessitated is now set to turn into a five cornered fight with the two TMC factions, BJP, Congress and the CPI-M-all fielding candidates.
The EC has been faced with similar issues on symbol disputes ahead of bypolls in the past but has usually passed interim orders several days ahead of nomination filing deadlines- in effect freezing the disputed symbol and allotting temporary ‘free’ symbols for bypoll purposes.
For instance, in 2022, the poll panel passed an interim order freezing the Shiv Sena symbol of ‘bow and arrow’ amid a dispute between two factions but it did so by October 8- well before the final date of nomination of October 14.
