Key facts
- The Trinamool Congress is facing a potential split that could lead to an Election Commission of India dispute.
- The party's symbol, 'Jora Ghas Phul', and its funds are at risk.
- The Election Commission will likely apply tests of majority in legislative and organizational wings.
- A significant portion of Trinamool MPs and MLAs have already broken away to form separate blocs.
- Past precedents show that legislative majority often determines the outcome in such party disputes.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is on the brink of a significant split, with the dispute likely to reach the Election Commission of India (ECI) soon. This internal conflict puts the party's symbol, 'Jora Ghas Phul', and its substantial financial assets at risk, as per past trends and legal precedents.
The ECI typically resolves such intra-party disputes by applying two key tests: the 'test of majority' in both the organizational and legislative wings of the party, as outlined in the Symbols Order and a 1972 Supreme Court ruling. While control over party funds and assets is usually a civil court matter, the ECI's verdict on which faction represents the 'real' party often influences these legal battles.
The legislative majority for the Mamata Banerjee camp appears precarious. Notably, 19 out of 20 TMC Members of Parliament have formally communicated to the Lok Sabha Speaker their intention to form a separate parliamentary bloc. This move follows a similar breakaway by 58 out of 80 TMC MLAs in the West Bengal assembly, who have established their own opposition bloc.
Past cases, such as the splits in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena, highlight the significance of the majority tests. In the NCP split, the Ajit Pawar faction secured the party symbol due to a clear legislative majority, while the Sharad Pawar faction failed to prove organizational majority. Similarly, the Shiv Sena symbol was awarded to the Eknath Shinde faction based on legislative support, as the organizational test remained inconclusive.
In some instances, like the Lok Jantantrik Party dispute, the ECI has frozen the party symbol and allotted distinct symbols to warring factions, a scenario that can complicate electoral prospects.