- Rahul Gandhi accused Election Commission of colluding with BJP over freezing of TMC symbol
- Election Commission froze Trinamool Congress poll symbol amid factional claims in West Bengal
- Both TMC factions must suggest new names and symbols for bypolls by September 18
Launching a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) a day after it froze the Trinamool Congress poll symbol, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has accused the poll panel of "colluding" with the BJP.
Amid contesting claims from two factions, the Election Commission on Thursday froze the "flower" symbol of the Trinamool Congress. Neither faction -- one led by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the other consisting of Ritabrata Banerjee and others -- can thus use the party symbol in the bypolls for Nandigram and Rejinagar in West Bengal slated for October 6.
Drawing parallels with the cases of Shiv Sena and the NCP before the Trinamool Congress, Rahul Gandhi alleged ECI and BJP "collusion".
"First Shiv Sena, then NCP, and now Trinamool Congress. The pattern is the same every time-the BJP and the Election Commission collude to split a party. Then, its election symbol is snatched away." Gandhi posted on X.
"The ECI's constitutional responsibility is to protect the mandate; instead, it is aiding the very forces that overturn the people's verdict," he added.
Throwing his weight behind the embattled Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, the Leader of Opposition said that it's not her fight alone.
Read | In Fight For Trinamool Name And Symbol, Poll Body's Freeze Ahead Of Bypolls
"This fight is not just Mamata Banerjee's; it is the fight of every political party and every voter who desires free and fair elections," Gandhi stated.
Linking the development to his campaign around alleged "vote chori", Gandhi said that "stolen party" is another symbol of "democratic decline".
"If an entire party can be stolen, then the theft of the votes of crores of Indians comes as no surprise. Stolen votes. Stolen government. Now, a stolen party-these have become symbols of our democratic decline."
The Election Commission order on freezing the Trinamool Congress symbol came amid the contesting claims by two factions represented by Mamata Banerjee and rebel Ritabrata Banerjee.
The EC stated that a "substantive determination" under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968, is required. The interim order will remain in effect until that decision.
Both groups were asked to submit preferred names and free symbols, three each, by 11 am on September 18.
As the commission began proceedings to determine which group represents the recognised political party, it identified two groups, one led by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the other by Arup Roy, who has been named party chairperson by the group of Ritabrata Banerjee, currently recognised as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.
The rebellion split Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee soon after the party's defeat in the Assembly elections in May.
Shiv Sena and the NCP have seen a similar fate earlier with the rebel factions - Eknath Shinde in Sena's case and late Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP - eventually getting the party's name and symbol. Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar now command parties with new names and symbols.
