CALCUTTA HIGH COURT QUESTIONS EC OVER REASSIGNMENT OF ELECTION SYMBOL IN NANDIGRAM BYPOLL

September 24, 2026

KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday questioned the Election Commission’s decision to reassign the ‘envelope’ election symbol to the newly formed Democratic Trinamool Congress instead of retaining it for the Indian Secular Front (ISF), which is also contesting the Nandigram Assembly bypoll.

Justice Krishna Rao questioned the rationale behind the decision, pointing out that the Election Commission had 183 free election symbols available. The court observed that the symbol could have been kept reserved to avoid a dispute between contesting parties.

“The authority should act fairly,” the court remarked while examining the ISF’s challenge to the reassignment.

The hearing was adjourned until Friday after the Election Commission’s counsel sought time to obtain instructions on why a separate notification regarding the allotment of symbols for the bypoll had not been issued. The Nandigram election is scheduled for October 6, 2026.