Kolkata, Sep 30 The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed the Indian Secular Front's petition against the Election Commission's decision to reassign the 'envelope' poll symbol to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress faction, both of which are contesting the October 6 Nandigram bypoll.
The Naushad Siddiqui-led Indian Secular Front (ISF) had moved the high court, claiming that the 'envelope' symbol, with which it contested the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2026 assembly elections, was reassigned to the Democratic Trinamool Congress despite its objection.
The poll panel has allotted the ISF the 'almirah' symbol.
Justice Krishna Rao dismissed the Naushad Siddiqui-led party's petition, observing that the court found no merit in it.
It noted that the ISF was claiming the 'envelope' symbol based on a March 10 order of the Election Commission, which has clarified that the use of a common symbol by a party is not allowed after the completion of the said election.
Justice Rao observed that the 'envelope' symbol was allotted to ISF to contest the 2026 West Bengal assembly election, which was completed in May. Hence, the petitioner cannot claim any right over it for the bypoll, as symbol allotment for the said election was conditional, he said.
The ISF had questioned whether reassignment of a poll symbol was a reasonable exercise of powers by the poll body. The poll panel stated that the ISF is a registered but not recognised political party, and as such, it does not have the right to hold a symbol, unlike the BJP or the Congress.
The Election Commission's lawyer said during arguments in court that the 'envelope' symbol was allotted to the ISF for use in only two elections.
Petitioner's counsel Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya had earlier argued that the bypoll was a continuation of the 2026 assembly election, and questioned how the 'envelope' symbol could be taken away from the ISF ahead of the electoral exercise.
The EC's counsel, however, had claimed that the ISF was already campaigning for the Nandigram bypoll with the newly allotted 'almirah' symbol, and that the petitioner intended to stall the election.
