Kolkata, 18 September (H.S.) : Following the Election Commission's decision to freeze the 'twin flowers' election symbol of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) ahead of the upcoming by-elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a scathing attack. Reacting to the poll panel's ruling, West Bengal BJP President and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya termed the development as divine justice, declaring that the Trinamool no longer exists as a political entity and has become completely dead and extinct.

Speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport on Friday, Bhattacharya launched a fierce tirade against Mamata Banerjee and her leadership.

Recalling a past incident, he said, This is God's justice. There was a time in North 24 Parganas and Barrackpore when Trinamool had issued a diktat that packets of vermilion (sindoor ) and liquid red dye (alta) bearing the image of a lotus could not be sold. Today, the exact same thing has happened to them. He added dismissively that whether the Trinamool retains its election symbol or loses it makes no difference to the general public.

Notably, the Election Commission had issued a clear directive on Thursday barring both the Kalighat faction (led by Mamata Banerjee) and the rebel Ritabrata Banerjee faction from using the 'twin flowers' symbol in the upcoming by-elections. The commission had directed both camps to submit their choices for alternative names and symbols by 11:00 AM on Friday. Initially, Kalighat faction leader Kalyan Banerjee had flatly refused to comply with the order, but political compulsions eventually forced Mamata Banerjee's camp to email a list of new names and symbols to the poll panel.

Meanwhile, the Ritabrata faction has also submitted its proposed names and symbols to the Election Commission.

According to sources, the dissident camp proposed 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' or 'West Bengal Trinamool Congress' as new names, while requesting the envelope, blackboard, and torch as their preferred symbols. However, the envelope symbol is already used in Bengal politics by the Indian Secular Front (ISF), and the torch is the designated symbol of the SUCI party. The Election Commission will take a final call on both factions' proposals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh