EC bars both Mamata Banerjee, TMC rebel group from using party name, symbol for bye-polls

The Election Commission, in an interim order on Thursday, barred both Trinamool Congress factions from using the party’s name and symbol in the upcoming Assembly bye-polls on October 6.

The poll body asked the factions led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee, who is the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, to pick new names and symbols until the dispute is resolved.

The factions have been asked to submit alternative names and symbols for the Nandigram and Rejinagar bye-elections by 11 am on Friday.

The TMC has been beset by internal divisions and rebellions after it lost the Assembly elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party in May. Nearly 60 out of the TMC’s 80 MLAs have rebelled against the party leadership to choose Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. The faction later appointed Arup Roy as the faction’s chairperson.

The group has been recognised by the Assembly speaker as the party’s legislature party in the House, and Ritabrata Banerjee has been recognised as the leader of the Opposition.

At the national level, 20 of the TMC’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs in June announced a merger with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India. The group is supporting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the Lower House...

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