The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by the Indian Secular Front (ISF) challenging the Election Commission of India’s decision to allot the ‘Envelope’ election symbol to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress Democratic (TMC-D) for the upcoming Nandigram Assembly by-election.
The petition was filed by ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui, represented by senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya. The party had challenged the Election Commission’s decision on the ground that the ISF had previously used the ‘Envelope’ symbol and was also contesting the Nandigram bypoll. It argued that assigning the same symbol to another contestant could create confusion among voters.
The case was heard by Justice Krishna Rao. During the earlier proceedings, the court had questioned the Election Commission’s decision to reassign the symbol, particularly when a large number of other free symbols were available.
The court had pointed out that 183 free symbols were available with the Election Commission and questioned why the ‘Envelope’ symbol had been allotted to another party contesting the same by-election. Justice Rao had observed that the poll authority was expected to act fairly and had questioned whether the symbol could have been kept aside to avoid a dispute.
The ISF had maintained that it had been using the ‘Envelope’ symbol in previous elections and that its reassignment during an ongoing election process could cause voter confusion. Its counsel had argued, “How can they allot my symbol to them in an election I am also contesting?”
The Election Commission, however, opposed the plea, arguing that the ISF was a registered but unrecognised political party and therefore did not have an exclusive claim over the symbol. The Commission maintained that the ‘Envelope’ was a free symbol available for allotment.
The High Court had earlier reserved its order on September 28 after questioning the basis of the Election Commission’s decision. With Wednesday’s dismissal of the ISF petition, the allotment of the ‘Envelope’ symbol to TMC-D for the Nandigram by-election remains in place.
The Nandigram by-election is scheduled for October 6, making the symbol dispute a significant issue in the run-up to polling.
