New Delhi: Last week, the Election Commission froze 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 Election Commission gave the Ritabrata Banerjee faction of the erstwhile TMC the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’. It was allotted the symbol of an envelope.Except the Bengal opposition party Indian Secular Front or ISF has already contested polls under the same symbol.The ISF – which is in the opposition in Bengal – has instead been allotted the ‘almirah’ symbol for the upcoming October 6 bypolls in Rejinagar and Nandigram. 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.The party has challenged the move by the Election Commission in the Calcutta high court.The Telegraph illustrates in a report the possible reason why the ISF’s symbol was not ruled out when it came to Ritabrata Banerjee’s party.It says, “The ISF is an unrecognised party and enjoys a concession to use a common symbol for its candidates. The ISF enjoyed the concession under Para 10B of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.”Unrecognised parties are ones which do not meet the vote share or seat share criteria of state and national parties that are entitled to use the allotted symbol in states or the whole country.