Election Commission hears both Trinamool factions in symbol dispute

The Election Commission on Saturday met both factions of the Trinamool Congress competing for control of the party's name and its 'joda ghash phool' (twin grass flowers) symbol, with the two sides pressing their claims ahead of next month's Assembly bypolls.

The faction led by Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Ritabrata Banerjee was heard first. Mr. Banerjee said his delegation made oral submissions before the full bench of the Commission and answered its queries, and that certain documents were shown during the deliberations. The poll body asked the grouping to submit additional papers before the end of the day.

A five-member delegation of the faction led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, comprising Derek O'Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, Sagarika Ghose, Saket Gokhale and advocate Abhinav Singh, met the Commission later the same day.

In a statement issued after its meeting, the Mamata Banerjee-led delegation said it had made clear that no genuine dispute exists. It described its rival as a group of "traitors" — the same MLAs who had contested the election on a Trinamool ticket five months earlier — and said the party chairperson had signed the symbol under which they fought. The statement also said the delegation established that internal elections to elect the chairperson and the national working committee have been held every five years, in 2006, 2011, 2017 and 2022, showing that both bodies have a five-year term.

The Ritabrata Banerjee faction, for its part, is understood to have flagged anomalies in the documents filed by the Mamata Banerjee group, particularly concerning a June 5 meeting of the Trinamool Congress Working Committee at which several office-bearers were changed. Former Trinamool MLA Chandrima Bhattacharya, previously the authorised signatory of the Mamata faction, submitted a letter on Saturday stating that communication related to the June 5 meeting was false.

Both sides have said they will field candidates in the coming bypolls and have staked a claim to the party symbol. Mr. Banerjee said his grouping had asked the Commission to decide the matter before nominations close on September 16, and expressed confidence that it would secure the symbol. "We have played our role. We have made our submission. We will be giving some more documents today itself. Now we have to wait for the highest apex body to give a ruling," he said.

The hearings come ahead of the October 6 Assembly bypolls in Nandigram and Rejinagar. The nomination process for the two seats opened on Wednesday and ends on September 16. Drawing on precedent from the Shiv Sena case, sources indicated the Commission is likely to freeze the party symbol temporarily while the dispute is settled.