Kolkata, Sep 17 — After meeting the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and presenting their respective arguments in support of their claims over the party name and symbol, the leader of the both the rival factions in the Trinamool Congress on Thursday expressed confidence that the final decision of the Commission in the matter will finally come in their favour.
The expelled Trinamool Congress legislator, Ritabrata Banerjee, which is leading the "rebel but majority" faction in the Trinamool Congress told media persons that a five-member delegation of his faction, which met the ECI's full bench first this afternoon, was able to give satisfactory answers to all questions raised in the matter by the poll panel representatives.
"We have stated our positions. We have answered all their questions. We have made our position clear to the ECI about the party name and symbol. We are hopeful that the verdict will be in our favour. The ECI had not said anything in the matter so far. We have full faith on the ECI. However, I will not say what was actually discussed in the meeting of our delegation with the ECI," Ritabrata said after the meeting.
On the other hand, four-time Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, who represented the delegation of the former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led "original but minority" faction, told media persons that all the necessary documents sought by the Commission in the matter have been submitted.
"On the basis of the documents submitted and arguments put forward by us, we are confident that the Commission's decision will ultimately go in our favour. We think that the Commission should take a final decision on the party name and symbol instead of taking an interim decision in view of any bye-election," Kalyan Banerjee said.
Last time, the Commission heard arguments from both the factions on September 12.
However, the ECI did not take any decision then. Instead, the Commission asked for some additional documents from both factions of Trinamool Congress.
Political observers feel that even if the ECI takes a final decision on the fate of Trinamol Congress' name and symbol on Thursday itself, the matter will not end there.
"Any faction that would be aggrieved by the decision will surely move the Supreme Court against the decision. Right now, as I can see, there are four possibilities. The first two possibilities are that the ECI allots the party name and symbol to any of the two factions, which will automatically lead to a long legal battle. The second possibility is that the ECI maintains the status quo in the matter for the time being and leaves the decision for later. The third possibility is that the Commission freezes the name and symbol of the party. In case of the fourth possibility, both the factions will have to opt for alternative names and alternative symbols," a Kolkata-based political observer said.