Mamata’s plea against EC freeze on TMC name, symbol to come up in SC this week

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to urgently list former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s challenge to the Election Commission of India’s decision to freeze the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) name and its “Flowers and Grass” election symbol.Banerjee moved SC on Sept 18, after the ECI allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival factions. (File photo)Chief Justice of India Surya Kant agreed to expedite the listing after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the TMC leader, told the court that the poll panel had acted while the factional dispute was still under consideration.“Something extraordinary has happened. The notice was issued in June and we filed our reply in July. While all this is on, the symbol has been frozen. What is going on?” Sibal told the bench while seeking an early listing of Banerjee’s plea.The CJI, however, said both sides would have an opportunity to present their arguments when the matter was taken up. “Whenever the matter is listed, please argue these points at the time. Both sides will have something to say,” said the CJI.When Sibal sought an early hearing, the CJI said: “We will try and list it in this week itself.”Banerjee moved the Supreme Court on September 18, hours after the Election Commission allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival factions following its September 17 interim order freezing the original party identity for the upcoming by-elections.Also Read:Mamata Banerjee told defeated leaders to quit if they want to: TMC leadersThe poll panel has named Banerjee’s faction “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and allotted it the “Football Player” symbol. The rival faction has been recognised as “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and allotted the “Envelope” symbol. The arrangements apply to the upcoming bypolls, including those in Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal.The Election Commission’s September 17 order came after rival groups staked claim to the party name, symbol and organisational control. The commission said there were two rival groups, one led by Banerjee and the other by the opposing faction, and that the dispute required a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.Banerjee’s petition has challenged the interim arrangement and the freezing of the original party name and symbol. The plea names the Election Commission and the rival faction as respondents.The dispute followed a rebellion within the TMC after its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections earlier this year, with the rival camp subsequently staking claim to the party’s organisational control. The Election Commission is examining competing claims relating to the party’s organisational structure and authorised representatives.After the TMC lost power in West Bengal following 15 years in office, an internal split erupted over control of the party. The Mamata Banerjee faction expelled two of its 78 legislators -- Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, before 57 of them rebelled and backed Ritabrata as Leader of the Opposition (LoP). The rebel group asserted its claim to the party’s name, its “flowers and grass” symbol, and organisational control.Twenty rebel TMC parliamentarians subsequently merged with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India and threw their support behind the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. On June 3, West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Nath Bose recognised 58 rebel TMC legislators as the principal opposition party, naming Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha as LoP and deputy LoP respectively. The move came a month after the BJP swept to power in the state for the first time, winning 207 of 294 seats, while the TMC’s tally fell to 80.At the Rajya Sabha level, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC was left with nine members after Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik resigned in June, joined the BJP, and were re-elected to the Upper House on July 24. A fourth TMC Rajya Sabha member, actor Koel Mallick, also resigned from the House.