NEW DELHI — Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has launched a sharp critique against the Election Commission of India (ECI) following the poll panel’s decision to freeze the Trinamool Congress’s “flower” symbol amid an ongoing intra-party leadership dispute.
The ECI’s interim order prevents both rival factions—one led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the other by Ritabrata Banerjee—from using the official party name and symbol in the upcoming October 6 bypolls for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies in West Bengal.
Key Political Highlights
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ECI Order & Protocol: Invoking Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968, the ECI froze the symbol pending a final substantive determination, directing both factions to submit three alternative party names and free symbols.
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Opposition Critique: Rahul Gandhi alleged systemic collusion between the ECI and the ruling party, drawing parallels to previous symbol freezes involving the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
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Party Factionalism: The political dispute stems from a post-assembly election split within the Trinamool Congress, dividing the party into groups aligned with Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy (appointed chairperson by the Ritabrata Banerjee faction).
