- By Shubham Bajpai
- Wed, 24 Jun 2026 06:55 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- EC to decide real TMC faction using 'two-wing' test.
- Test assesses legislative and organizational support for party.
- First used in 1969 Congress split, upheld by Supreme Court.
The fight for Trinamool Congress between the rebel group led by Ritabrata Banerjee and Mamata Banerjee has now reached the Election Commission, which will decide which group constitutes the real party with the signature "Jora Ghas Phool" (twin flowers on grass) symbol.
The matter reached the poll body after both groups submitted separate national working committee lists. The Ritabrata-led group on Monday voted to replace Mamata with Arup Roy as party chairperson.
The group submitted a letter to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) demanding recognition and a symbol. However, the Mamata camp responded with a list of party representatives giving the top post back to the former Bengal CM. Mamata's camp has also submitted a letter supporting their party's claim.
What is the 'Two-wings' test?
The ball is now in EC's court, and it is to decide which faction is the real TMC. Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, mandated EC to decide such questions once a recognised party splits and factions claim the party and the symbol.
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The poll body is likely to use its 'two-wings' test to settle the issue. In this method, the poll body considers the claims by factions on two aspects: the legislative support and the organisational support.
It means the party that controls both the "legislative wing" and the "organisational wing" is identified as the real party, and the symbol is provided to them.
For this, the poll body would now seek affidavits and evidence from the factions to prove their claims and will conduct hearings.
However, if the poll body does not feel convinced by either claim, it may allot temporary names and temporary symbols to the factions until the dispute is resolved completely.
History of the 'two-wing' test
The 'two-wings' test was first used by EC during Congress's split in 1969. Back then, EC faced a challenge to decide on the real Congress after a split between Indira Gandhi's Congress (I) and the old guards' Congress (O).
Indira Gandhi-led faction, which had nominated Babu Jagjeevan Ram as its party presidential nominee, was found to have the support of a majority of MPs and MLAs in the country despite Congress (O) enjoying strength in several states.
The Congress (I) or Congress (J), for Jagjeevan Ram, also held a majority in the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the organisational arm.
Based on the two-wing test, the EC declared Indira's faction as the real Congress. The poll body's decision was challenged in the Supreme Court by Congress (O).
The old guard faction suffered a setback as a Supreme Court bench led by Justice HR Khanna upheld the EC verdict on November 11, 1971, and cited majority and numerical strength to be a "relevant and valuable test".