Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court questioned the Election Commission’s decision to allot the “envelope” symbol to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led Democratic Trinamool Congress for the upcoming West Bengal bypolls.
The court asked why the symbol, previously used by the Indian Secular Front (ISF), was chosen when 183 other symbols were available. It stressed that the poll authority should act impartially and fairly.
The ISF had approached the High Court challenging the decision, arguing that the symbol had been associated with the party and that using it for another contestant could confuse voters. The party has instead been allotted the “almirah” symbol for the bypolls.
The Election Commission told the court that the ISF is an unrecognised political party and that the envelope was a free symbol. Under the rules, unrecognised parties can be allotted symbols from the available list.
The dispute comes after the EC froze the original Trinamool Congress name and its traditional symbol amid a factional dispute. The Mamata Banerjee-led group was allotted the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the “football player” symbol, while Ritabrata’s faction received the name “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the envelope symbol.