Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has criticised the Election Commission’s interim decision to prevent rival factions of the Trinamool Congress from using the party’s name and reserved election symbol in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly bypolls.
The Election Commission issued the interim order on September 17 following a dispute between two groups claiming control of the All India Trinamool Congress. The order applies to the upcoming bypolls in the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies, which are scheduled for October 6.
According to the Election Commission, the two rival groups are led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy. Both sides have claimed to represent the recognised All India Trinamool Congress. The Commission said the dispute requires a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols Reservation and Allotment Order, 1968.
As an interim measure, the Commission directed that neither faction would be permitted to use the name All India Trinamool Congress or the reserved Flowers and Grass election symbol for the current bypolls. The Commission said the temporary arrangement was intended to place both groups on an equal footing and protect their respective rights and interests until a final decision is reached.
The two factions were asked to submit three preferred names and three free election symbols to the Commission. The names and symbols are intended to be used specifically for the upcoming bypolls while the larger dispute over the party’s identity remains under consideration.
Reacting to the decision, Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party of working together to split political parties and remove their established election symbols. These are political allegations made by Gandhi and were not presented as findings by the Election Commission in its interim order.
In a post on social media, Gandhi referred to earlier disputes involving the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party before referring to the current dispute within the Trinamool Congress. He described the developments using the phrases vote theft, government theft and party theft and argued that the Election Commission should protect the electoral mandate.
The Congress party also criticised the Election Commission’s interim order. The party alleged that the decision represented a failure of the Commission’s constitutional responsibility and raised concerns about the impact of the order on the electoral process. These statements reflect the Congress party’s political position on the matter.
The Election Commission, however, stated that its interim arrangement was necessary because both groups were claiming the identity of the same recognised political party and there was limited time available before the bypolls. The Commission said that completing the full proceedings under Paragraph 15 would require a substantive determination, while the upcoming elections required an immediate interim arrangement.
The dispute has also led to different reactions from the two TMC factions. The faction associated with Mamata Banerjee has objected to the Commission’s interim order, while the rival faction has indicated that it would follow the temporary arrangement. The Mamata faction subsequently submitted alternative names and symbols to the Election Commission under protest for the upcoming bypolls.
The Election Commission’s order does not represent a final determination of which faction is entitled to the All India Trinamool Congress name and its reserved election symbol. Instead, the restriction is an interim measure covering the current bypolls while the Commission considers the competing claims.
The controversy has therefore become an important political and legal development ahead of the October 6 bypolls in West Bengal. The final outcome of the dispute over the party’s name and symbol will depend on the Election Commission’s substantive proceedings under the applicable election symbols rules.
For voters, the immediate change is that the rival groups contesting the upcoming bypolls cannot use the existing All India Trinamool Congress name and Flowers and Grass symbol under the interim arrangement. They are instead required to contest under names and symbols allotted for the current elections.