The development follows Banerjee’s sharp criticism of the ECI on Thursday, when she described the freezing of the party’s name and ‘flowers and grass’ symbol as a “black day” in the country’s democratic history. She said she would not accept the interim arrangement as a settlement and would continue the fight to reclaim the party’s original identity and symbol through political, democratic and legal means.
The ECI’s decision means that neither faction will contest the forthcoming by-polls using the party’s original name and symbol. The new names and symbols are an interim arrangement for the current electoral process.
The by-polls in Nandigram in East Midnapore district and Rejinagar in Murshidabad district are scheduled for 6 October, with counting on 9 October.
The dispute follows a rebellion within the TMC legislature party after the party’s Assembly election defeat in May, which subsequently spread to Parliament. In June, rebel MLAs elected Ritabrata Banerjee as leader of the Opposition instead of the Mamata camp’s nominee Sovandeb Chattopadhyay. The speaker subsequently recognised Banerjee in the post.
The rebellion later reached Parliament, with a group of Lok Sabha MPs backing the formation of a separate bloc, deepening the split within the party’s parliamentary ranks.
With PTI inputs
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