Mamata Banerjee moves Supreme Court over EC freeze on Trinamool name and symbol

Mamata Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Election Commission's interim decision freezing the Trinamool Congress name and its reserved symbol, a move that follows a deepening dispute between two rival factions of the party.

The poll panel had issued its interim order on Thursday night, after hearing representatives of the groups led by Banerjee and by Arup Roy. It held that the question of which faction is the genuine Trinamool Congress requires substantive determination under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. Until that exercise is complete, neither side may use the party's name or its reserved symbol.

On Friday, the Commission allotted separate identities to the two groups for the coming bypolls. The faction led by Banerjee will contest as 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' with the 'Football Player' symbol, while the Arup Roy-led group has been given the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' and the 'Envelope' symbol.

In her petition, Banerjee has named the Election Commission and Ritabrata Banerjee, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, as respondents.

Reacting to the freeze earlier, Banerjee described the loss of the party's identity as akin to a mother losing her child and called it a black day in the country's democratic history. She said she would not treat the interim arrangement as a settlement and pledged to fight politically, democratically and legally to reclaim the party's original name and its 'Jora Ghash Phul' symbol.

The bypolls to Nandigram in East Medinipur district and Rejinagar in Murshidabad district are scheduled for October 6, with counting of votes on October 9. The seats fell vacant after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who won from both Nandigram and Bhabanipur, chose to retain Bhabanipur, and AJUP leader Humayun Kabir, who won from both Naoda and Rejinagar, gave up Rejinagar.

The Commission's intervention follows a rebellion within the TMC legislature party after the Assembly election defeat in May, which later spread to Parliament. In June, 58 rebel MLAs elected the expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly in place of the Mamata camp's nominee, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, and secured recognition from the Speaker — the party's first split in its 28-year history. Five days later, 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar joined the little-known NCPI and wrote to Speaker Om Birla, backing the BJP-led NDA as a separate bloc.