‘Vote theft, government theft, now party theft’: Rahul Gandhi hits out at EC over TMC symbol freeze
New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised the Election Commission’s interim decision barring rival Trinamool Congress factions from using the party’s name and its reserved ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly bypolls.
In a post on X, Gandhi alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission were acting together to divide opposition parties and deprive them of their recognised symbols.
“First Shiv Sena, then NCP, and now Trinamool Congress. It is the same pattern every time,” Gandhi said, referring to earlier disputes over party names and symbols.
He alleged that the poll panel was helping forces seeking to overturn electoral mandates by taking away party symbols.
“Vote theft, government theft, now party theft,” Gandhi said, adding that the issue was not merely about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but concerned voters and political parties seeking free and fair elections.
EC freezes TMC name, symbol for bypolls
The Election Commission on September 17 issued an interim order restraining both rival factions from using the name ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ and its reserved ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol for the upcoming bypolls.
The order came amid a dispute between factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee over control of the party, its name and election symbol. The Commission said the matter requires a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Both factions have been asked to submit three choices each for an alternative party name and free election symbols. The Commission will allot a name and symbol to each faction for the bypolls.
Congress backs criticism of poll panel
The Congress has also criticised the interim order, alleging that restricting the use of the party’s name and symbol amounts to the Election Commission stepping back from its constitutional responsibilities.
The dispute comes ahead of the October 6 West Bengal Assembly bypolls, including contests in Nandigram and Rejinagar, where the rival factions had staked claims to the TMC identity.
