New Delhi: The Calcutta high court on Thursday (September 24) questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) for allotting the election symbol of an envelope to the ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ – the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) – despite the fact that the symbol has earlier been used by the Indian Secular Front (ISF).“Why are your authorities doing like this? Why entering into these disputing things? How many symbols they were having? 183? Why are you putting envelopes?” the court observed on Thursday, reported LiveLaw.“His case is that when one symbol is used by one party, and this is the by election, why did you choose only that symbol for a particular person? You should have kept it reserved,” the court added.The court was hearing the petition of ISF which has alleged that it was not allowed to raise objections or even consulted during the ostensible allocation of an election symbol under which it has contested the latest assembly polls.Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya appeared for the ISF and submitted that as a result of allotting the symbol to another political party, there was confusion among voters because ISF is also contesting the upcoming October 6 bypolls in Rejinagar and Nandigram.“How can they allot my symbol to them in an election I am also contesting? This action of ECI is spoiling the EC machinery and it’s losing credibility. I am suggesting that ECI should declare this Envelope frozen for all and give another symbol to the parties. Otherwise voters are confused that in the election held in May ISF had envelope and in July it is changed,” submitted Bhattacharya.In response, the ECI told the Court that the ISF had been given the symbol in 2021 and had contested elections in 2024 and 2026, but the symbol had been mentioned as a free symbol.The court then asked why the ECI had chosen the ‘Envelope’ symbol when several other symbols were available.“Your authorities are only pinching the people to create legal proceedings? This is their way to work?” said the court.The court questioned that was only one symbol available out of 183 election symbols that the ECI allotted the envelope symbol to the Ritabrata faction.When the ECI replied that it was a one-time facility, the court said, “Authority should act impartially and fairly. Once there is an objection just months ago it was used by another party and you are having 183 symbols why involving that? And you are producing rules instead of being impartial.”The court also observed that once the election process had commenced, the decision was creating difficulties and compelling political parties to approach the court.“Once the election started you are creating all the trouble and the parties are coming to court, putting burden on the court,” said the court.Earlier, the ECI had frozen the Trinamool Congress party’s name and iconic twin-flower election symbol.It gave the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ to the Trinamool Congress’ founder Mamata Banerjee and the faction of her party that is still with her. The Mamata group was allowed the symbol of a footballer. The ECI gave the Ritabrata faction of the erstwhile TMC the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’. It was allotted the symbol of an envelope, to which the ISF had objected.The ISF – which is in the opposition in Bengal – has instead been allotted the ‘almirah’ symbol for the upcoming bypolls.The ISF has alleged that it was not allowed to raise objections or even consulted during the ostensible allocation of an election symbol under which it has contested the latest assembly polls. The ISF’s candidates also used the envelope symbol for its candidates who contested from the Bihar-based Rashtriya Secular Majlis Party in 2021.