New Delhi, September 19: Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission’s interim decision to freeze the original name and reserved symbol of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) amid an internal dispute between rival factions.
The petition challenges the poll panel’s September 17 order preventing the two groups from using the party’s original name and the “Flowers and Grass” symbol until the dispute over control of the organisation is decided.
The Election Commission subsequently allotted separate names and symbols to the rival camps for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly bypolls. The faction led by Mamata Banerjee was given the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the “Football Player” symbol, while the rival group was allotted “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the “Envelope” symbol. The Commission said the arrangement is interim and applies to the upcoming bypolls.
In her Supreme Court plea, Banerjee has challenged the Election Commission’s decision and named the poll panel and Ritabrata Banerjee as respondents, according to reports on the petition.
The dispute comes amid a split within the Trinamool Congress following disagreements over the party’s organisational control. The Election Commission said the competing claims require substantive determination under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Banerjee had criticised the Commission’s decision after the interim order and said she would continue her legal and political efforts to retain the party’s original identity and traditional symbol.
The development comes ahead of the October 6 Assembly bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar, where the rival factions will contest under the newly allotted identities. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 9.
The Supreme Court challenge adds a new legal dimension to the dispute, with the final question of the original party name and symbol still pending before the Election Commission’s substantive proceedings.