Mamata Moves Supreme Court Against EC Order Freezing TMC Name, Symbol

Former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee on Friday approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) interim decision to bar her faction from using the original “All India Trinamool Congress” name and its traditional ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol, news agency ANI reported.

The development came a day after the ECI barred both rival factions from using the TMC’s original name and reserved symbol while it examines the dispute between the two groups.

The poll panel subsequently allotted separate names and symbols to the rival factions. The faction led by Arup Roy was recognised as the “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and allotted the envelope symbol. Mamata Banerjee’s faction was named the “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and given the football player symbol.

Both factions have been recognised as political parties in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura.

Mamata Calls ECI Order A ‘Black Day’

Reacting to the ECI decision, Banerjee described it as a “black day” in the country’s democratic history and strongly criticised the freezing of the TMC’s original name and symbol.

Banerjee compared the loss of the party’s identity to the pain of a mother losing her child, saying those who had not built the organisation through years of struggle could not understand the emotional bond associated with it.

“A mother understands the pain of losing a child, and a child understands the pain of losing a mother. Those who have not built this organisation through struggle cannot understand that emotional bond,” she said.

Banerjee made it clear that she would not accept the ECI’s interim arrangement as a final settlement. She said her faction would continue its legal, political and democratic efforts to reclaim the original TMC name and the ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol.

She also said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal had contacted her following the ECI’s decision.

TMC Faction To Support Congress In Nandigram Bypoll

Banerjee also announced that her faction would not contest the Nandigram bypoll scheduled for October 6 and would instead support Congress candidate Milan Pradhan.

The move comes despite the TMC and Congress generally contesting elections separately in West Bengal, even though both are constituents of the INDIA bloc at the national level. The two parties last fought the West Bengal Assembly elections as allies in 2011.

Banerjee said the decision to back the Congress candidate was aimed at demonstrating Opposition unity as INDIA bloc parties seek to jointly challenge the BJP.

The announcement followed the withdrawal earlier on Friday of Sanchita Pradhan Dey, a teacher who had been selected and backed by Banerjee’s faction to contest from Nandigram.

ECI’s Interim Arrangement

Under the ECI’s interim arrangement, the rival factions will contest elections under separate names and symbols while the underlying dispute over the TMC’s identity is examined.

The Arup Roy-led faction has been allotted the name “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the envelope symbol, while Mamata Banerjee’s faction has been allotted “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the football player symbol.

Both factions have been recognised as political parties in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura.