NEW DELHI, Sept 21: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to urgently list a plea filed by former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee challenging the Election Commission’s interim decision to freeze the All India Trinamool Congress name and its reserved ‘Flowers and Grass’ election symbol.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. Sibal sought an early hearing, questioning the poll panel’s decision to suspend the party’s existing identity while the dispute between the two factions remains under consideration.
The Election Commission had issued its interim order on September 18 after recognising competing claims from two groups seeking control of the party. It barred both factions from using the original party name and reserved symbol until a substantive decision is reached under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
The poll panel subsequently allotted alternative identities to the two groups for the upcoming bypolls. The faction led by Banerjee was given the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ along with the ‘Football Player’ symbol. The rival faction was allotted ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Envelope’ symbol.
The changes are linked to the approaching October 6 Assembly bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar. The Election Commission has treated the new names and symbols as an interim arrangement while its proceedings on the competing claims continue.
Banerjee’s Supreme Court petition challenges the Election Commission’s intervention and seeks relief against the freezing of the party’s established identity. Her legal challenge follows her criticism of the poll panel’s decision and her stated intention to pursue the matter through legal and democratic channels.
The dispute emerged after a rebellion within the Trinamool Congress following the party’s defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Rival groups subsequently put forward competing claims concerning the party’s leadership and organisational control, prompting the Election Commission to examine the matter under the election-symbol rules.
The Supreme Court’s decision to take up the matter on an urgent basis brings the dispute before the judiciary while the Election Commission’s substantive proceedings remain pending. The outcome of the legal challenge could have implications for the party’s identity ahead of the upcoming bypolls.
For now, the Election Commission’s interim arrangement remains the operative framework for the two factions, with each required to contest under its newly allotted name and symbol unless a subsequent judicial or electoral decision changes the position.