New Delhi, Sep 18 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised the Election Commission’s interim decision preventing rival Trinamool Congress factions from using the party’s official name and its reserved “Flowers and Grass” election symbol during the upcoming West Bengal bypolls.
In a post on X, Gandhi alleged that the developments followed a pattern seen in earlier disputes involving other political parties. Referring to the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, he accused the BJP and the poll panel of working together to divide parties and remove their recognised election symbols. These were allegations made by Gandhi, rather than findings established by the Election Commission.
Gandhi said the Election Commission’s constitutional responsibility was to safeguard the electoral mandate and argued that the latest action raised concerns about the protection of voters’ choices. He described the episode using the phrases “vote chori”, “government chori” and “party chori”, saying such developments represented what he called a decline in democratic standards.
He also said the issue should not be viewed as a dispute involving Mamata Banerjee alone, arguing that political parties and voters seeking free and fair elections had a stake in the matter.
The Election Commission issued its interim order on Thursday after hearing representatives of two rival groups claiming control of the All India Trinamool Congress. The Commission identified one faction led by Mamata Banerjee and another led by Arup Roy and said the competing claims required a substantive determination under Para 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Until a final decision is reached, neither faction has been permitted to use the name “All India Trinamool Congress” or the reserved “Flowers and Grass” symbol for the current bypolls. The Commission has instead directed the groups to contest under separate names and select symbols from the list of free symbols notified for the elections.
The rival groups were asked to submit three preferred names and three free-symbol choices by 11 a.m. on September 18. The temporary arrangement is intended to remain in place until the Commission completes its final determination of the organisational dispute.
The Congress has also criticised the Commission’s decision, while leaders associated with the two TMC factions have expressed differing views on the interim order. The dispute is now set to continue through the Commission’s substantive proceedings under the applicable election-symbol rules.