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After the Election Commission allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and ‘football player’ election symbol to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool faction, the faction will contest the elections under the new name and symbol. Amid the ongoing controversy over the original TMC identity, the rival faction led by Arup Roy has been named ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and given the election symbol of ‘Envelope’.
What new name and symbol has Mamata Banerjee’s group got?
The Election Commission has allotted the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and election symbol ‘Football Player’ to Mamata Banerjee’s group. This arrangement will remain in force as long as the dispute over control of the original All India Trinamool Congress is pending before the Election Commission.
The Mamata-led group will be treated as a recognized political party under its allotted identity in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura.
The rival group led by Arup Roy has been named ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’. Its election symbol will be ‘Envelope’.
Why did Mamata Banerjee lose her election symbol of flowers and grass?
These new identities come after the Election Commission’s interim order suspending the name of All India Trinamool Congress and its reserved ‘flowers and grass’ symbol.
The dispute began when rival factions claimed to represent the recognized Trinamool Congress. One faction is led by party founder and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The second faction is led by Arup Roy, of which Ritabrata Banerjee is one of the key leaders.
The Commission said on September 17 that there were two rival factions in the party and both were claiming to be All India Trinamool Congress. The Commission said that a final decision on this dispute is necessary under Article 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Until that decision is made, no group can use the original party name or the Flowers and Grass symbol.
Why did Mamata’s group get the logo of a football player?
After settling on the original name and symbol, the Election Commission asked both the groups to submit alternative names and symbols.
Mamata Banerjee’s faction had proposed ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ as one of its preferred names. They had also asked for a football-related symbol or a cricket bat. Ultimately the commission allocated the football player logo to the group.
The Arup Roy camp had proposed several names, including the Democratic Trinamool Congress. His favorite symbols included the blackboard, the envelope, and the torch. The Commission allotted him the envelope symbol.
What will voters see in Nandigram and Rejinagar?
This decision will change the way both rival factions of Trinamool present themselves before the voters in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly by-elections.
Voting in Nandigram and Rejinagar is scheduled for October 6, while counting of votes will take place on October 9.
Voters supporting Mamata Banerjee’s candidates will now have to recognize the football player’s symbol instead of the familiar symbol of flowers and grass. The Arup Roy-led group will contest the elections under the envelope symbol.
The change would leave both groups with little time to introduce their new names and symbols to voters before polling day.
What happened to the original name of Trinamool Congress?
No faction has been given permanent control over the name of the original All India Trinamool Congress or its flower and grass symbol.
The Election Commission mechanism resolves the immediate problem arising from rival claims, while the main dispute still remains unresolved.
Under Article 15 of the Election Symbols Order, the Commission can examine rival claims and decide which group should be recognized as the basic political party. It can also be decided that no group should get this recognition.
Why is the symbol of flowers and grass so important for Mamata Banerjee?
Mamata Banerjee founded Trinamool Congress in 1998 after leaving Congress. Later the flower and grass symbol became deeply associated with his party in West Bengal.
It appeared on the ballot during the rise of Trinamool and its victory against the Left Front in the 2011 West Bengal Assembly elections.
The latest decision by the Election Commission means that Mamata’s group will now contest the upcoming by-elections with her name in the party’s new identity, but without the long-standing election symbol associated with Trinamool.
What will happen next in TMC symbol controversy?
The question of how both the groups will contest the elections has now been immediately resolved. The election symbol of Mamata Banerjee’s faction is a football player, while the election symbol of Arup Roy faction is an envelope.
The major dispute is still pending before the Election Commission. Its final decision will decide whether either faction can lay claim to the original All India Trinamool Congress name and flower-grass symbol.