Kolkata: The Election Commission has temporarily frozen the use of the All India Trinamool Congress name and the party’s iconic ‘Jora Phool’ (twin flowers on grass) election symbol, amid the continuing dispute between the two rival factions of the Trinamool Congress.
The decision comes ahead of the upcoming Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly by-elections, where candidates backed by the two camps are set to contest. According to reports, neither faction will be permitted to use the existing party name or the reserved ‘Jora Phool’ symbol for these elections.
The two sides are identified as the faction led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the faction led by Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Ritabrata Banerjee. Both groups have been claiming control over the party organisation, name and election symbol.
As part of its interim arrangement, the Election Commission has asked both factions to submit three choices each for an alternative party name and election symbol. The symbols have to be selected from the Commission’s list of available symbols.
The Commission’s direction is an interim measure for the election process and does not amount to a final determination of which faction is entitled to the original party name and symbol. The broader dispute over organisational control and the party’s recognised identity remains subject to the Commission’s ongoing proceedings.
The development means that the two TMC factions will have to enter the forthcoming by-elections under separate names and symbols, at least for the duration covered by the interim arrangement.
The Election Commission’s move has therefore added a new dimension to the ongoing dispute, with both factions now required to decide their alternative identities before the prescribed deadline.
