Kolkata, Sept. 23 -- The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to return with its response on the Indian Secular Front's challenge to the allotment of the 'Envelope' election symbol to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress. The matter will be heard again on Thursday.
Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, appearing for the ISF, questioned the poll panel's decision to allot the symbol to another party while the ISF was also contesting the election using it.
The ECI, however, submitted that the ISF is an unrecognised political party and cannot claim a reserved symbol. It said the 'Envelope' had been allotted to the ISF temporarily and had been used by the party on two occasions before being re-allotted.
Bhattacharya argued that the issue was not merely about the ISF's claim over the symbol. He submitted that the ECI should not allot 'Envelope' to either party in the same election, particularly when the ISF had already been campaigning with the symbol.
The senior counsel also questioned the allotment to the rival faction, pointing out that the party had been formed only recently.
During the hearing, the court referred to the competing claims involving the 'Envelope' and 'Football' symbols.
The ISF counsel maintained that neither party should be assigned 'Envelope' and suggested that the concerned faction could instead be allotted another symbol. The ECI sought time to respond to the submissions.
The court accordingly directed that the matter be listed on Thursday.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.