Calcutta High Court rejects AISF petition over election symbol

The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the All India Secular Front (AISF) seeking the restoration of its ‘envelope’ election symbol. The ruling comes ahead of the upcoming by-elections in West Bengal, scheduled for October 6 in the Nandigram and Raiganj constituencies.

AISF leader and MLA Naushad Siddiqui challenged the Election Commission of India’s decision to reassign the ‘envelope’ symbol to the Democratic Trinamool Congress, a faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee. The AISF argued that the party had used the ‘envelope’ symbol in previous elections, including the 2021 assembly elections, and feared that changing it now would cause confusion among voters.

In response, the Election Commission argued that because the AISF is not a recognized political party, it does not hold a permanent claim to any specific symbol. The Commission stated that the ‘envelope’ was a free symbol available for allocation. Justice Krishna Rao of the Calcutta High Court declined to intervene, stating the court did not wish to interfere in the upcoming by-elections. Consequently, the AISF will contest the Nandigram by-election using the ‘cupboard’ symbol.