No more Flowers & Grass: Mamata Banerjee gets 'Football Player' symbol for October 6 Bengal bypolls

The Election Commission has given new names and poll symbols to rival Trinamool Congress groups. Mamata Banerjee gets 'Football Player' while rebel group receives 'Envelope'.

Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool faction will fight under a new name and symbol after the Election Commission allotted it the name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' and the 'Football Player' symbol. The Arup Roy-led rival group has been named 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' and given the 'Envelope' symbol amid the continuing battle over the original TMC identity.

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What new name and symbol has Mamata Banerjee's group received?

The Election Commission has allotted Mamata Banerjee's group the name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' and the election symbol 'Football Player'. The arrangement will apply as the dispute over control of the original All India Trinamool Congress remains before the poll body.

The Mamata-led group will be treated as a recognised political party in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura under its allotted identity.

The rival group led by Arup Roy has been allotted the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress'. Its election symbol will be an 'Envelope'.

Why did Mamata Banerjee lose the Flowers & Grass symbol?

The new identities follow the Election Commission's interim order freezing the All India Trinamool Congress name and its reserved 'Flowers & Grass' symbol.

The dispute began after rival groups claimed to represent the recognised Trinamool Congress. One group is led by party founder and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The other is led by Arup Roy, with Ritabrata Banerjee among its main leaders.

The Commission said on September 17 that there were two rival groups in the party and that each was claiming to be the All India Trinamool Congress. It said the dispute required a final decision under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

Until that decision is made, neither group can use the original party name or the Flowers & Grass symbol.

Why did Mamata's group get the Football Player symbol?

After freezing the original name and symbol, the Election Commission asked both groups to submit alternative names and symbols.

Mamata Banerjee's faction proposed 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' among its preferred names. It also sought a football-related symbol or a cricket bat. The Commission eventually allotted the group the Football Player symbol.

The Arup Roy camp had proposed names including Democratic Trinamool Congress. Its preferred symbols included a blackboard, envelope and torch. The Commission allotted it the Envelope symbol.

What will voters see in Nandigram and Rejinagar?

The decision changes how the two rival Trinamool groups will appear before voters in the coming West Bengal Assembly bypolls.

Polling in Nandigram and Rejinagar is scheduled for October 6, while votes will be counted on October 9.

Instead of the familiar Flowers & Grass symbol, voters backing Mamata Banerjee's candidates will now have to identify the Football Player symbol. The Arup Roy-led group will contest under the Envelope symbol.

The change gives both groups only a short period to make their new names and symbols familiar to voters before polling day.

What happened to the original Trinamool Congress name?

Neither faction has been given permanent control of the original All India Trinamool Congress name or its Flowers & Grass symbol.

The Election Commission's arrangement deals with the immediate problem created by the rival claims while the main dispute remains unresolved.

Under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols Order, the Commission can examine the rival claims and decide which group should be recognised as the original political party. It can also decide that neither group should receive that recognition.

Why is the Flowers & Grass symbol important to Mamata Banerjee?

Mamata Banerjee founded the Trinamool Congress in 1998 after leaving the Congress. The Flowers & Grass symbol later became closely associated with her party in West Bengal.

It appeared on the ballot during Trinamool's rise against the Left Front and its victory in the 2011 West Bengal Assembly election.

The Election Commission's latest decision means Mamata's group will now go into the coming bypolls with her name in the party's new identity but without the symbol long associated with Trinamool.

What happens next in the TMC symbol dispute?

The immediate question over how the two groups will contest elections has now been settled. Mamata Banerjee's side has the Football Player symbol, while the Arup Roy group has the Envelope.

The larger dispute is still before the Election Commission. Its final order will decide whether either faction can claim the original All India Trinamool Congress name and Flowers & Grass symbol.

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