NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee registered her “strongest protest” after the Election Commission barred the rival factions from using party’s name and reserved election symbol in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly bypolls, news agency PTI reported, citing sources.“Mamata submitted response to EC’s interim order seeking three preferred names, symbols “under strongest protest”, at 11.36 pm on Thursday night,” sources told PTI.This comes after the poll panel, in its interim order, ruled that neither faction can use AITC’s name or “flowers and grass” symbol after acknowledging a split between factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy.Both groups will have to contest the bypolls under different names and with election symbols allotted by the Commission. This arrangement will continue until the dispute is finally settled.EC said two rival groups each claimed to be the “real” party, requiring substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. It said the interim measure, based on precedents, would place them on an “even keel”.

The poll panel has been hearing competing claims from the two factions over control of the party, its name and election symbol. Both sides have submitted documents and appeared before the Commission during the proceedings.The dispute reached the Election Commission in July after the rival factions staked competing claims to control of the TMC. The panel subsequently sought responses on issues including organisational control, authorised signatories, party assets, name and election symbol.