The Election Commission's move to ban Trinamool Congress's name and its iconic “Flowers and Grass” symbol has turned two bypolls in West Bengal into a much more significant game than just for Assembly seats. Now it's a struggle for political control, voter recognition and the price tag of one of eastern India's most formidable electoral brands.

The interim order came after the two sides, led by Mamata Banerjee and Arup Roy, the latter chief of the organisation, and Ritabrata Banerjee of the political wing, respectively, made competing claims. The Commission denied both the groups the use of the name All India Trinamool Congress and the symbol reserved for it under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols Order prior to the October 6 polling.

The Mamata camp was protesting over the provision of alternate choices as they argued that no interim restriction should have been made. The Commission has now given it the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the “Football Player” symbol. The opposition camp has been given an “Envelope” symbol and “Democratic Trinamool Congress.”

Indians' election symbol is not just a symbolic administrative sign. It's a construct of political IP, developed over many years of campaign, TV, posters, boothing, rallies. The Flowers and Grass symbol had come to represent the political face of Mamata Banerjee. However, its withdrawal will make an immediate re-branding cost on her organisation.

The Mamata camp still has a visual story to work with with the footballer symbol. Football is rooted in the culture of Bengal and can be showcased as a vessel for movement, competition and teamwork. The new factional name also gives considerable prominence to Mamata's first name, reflecting the way the Trinamool party has been promoting its politics for years: more important than the formal structure of the organisation is the man who leads it.

That strategy may help to provide a remedy for the passing loss of the original symbol. However, it also has an architectural hazard. A party that is largely relying on the recognition of one leader will be less able to show institutional continuity, particularly if there is a strong institutional and legislative base for other claimants.

The opposite problem is facing the rebels. “Democratic Trinamool Congress” is closer to the parent organisation, but what is an envelope compared to Flowers and Grass? When the most familiar leader is on the losing side, their task is to convince voters that the party's leadership members of parliament, office-bearers, and party organisations is the true party.

The difference is relevant, because there are two types of political brands. This first is emotional equity, which is formed when voters have a close connection with the leader. The second is organisational equity, which is achieved via elected representatives, district committees, funding networks and booth workers. The bypolls will provide an answer on which form of equity is more important when they are divided.

Electoral arithmetic is a burden as well. The elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar are likely to be a motley crew of Trinamool and BJP along with Congress and CPI(M). If there is just a small split in the previous Trinamool voting base, it could change the outcome. Nandigram also has symbolic significance as it is part and parcel of Mamata Banerjee's rise, but also because the land-acquisition movement that led to the downfall of three decades of Left rule.

Business dimension is also missing from the political parties. Elections demand cash, distribution networks and well-defined messaging. A sudden symbol change also involves changing the printed material, redesigning digital advertisements, retraining booth personnel and educating voters on where to find the new symbol on the electronic voting machine. It is not cosmetic changes. They are operations in the emergency supply-chain which are performed under extreme time pressures.

The uncertainty comes in when West Bengal's economy is in need of administrative tranquility instead of taking another sabre rattling from the institutional conflict. The state's debt is estimated at about ₹7.02 lakh crore, which is equivalent to 39 per cent of the state's gross domestic product. The amount of money spent on salaries, pensions and interest payments takes up a significant proportion of revenue and provides less funding for infrastructure, industrial incentives and employment programmes.

The fiscal deficit can be the same as the set target figure but the content of expenditure is as important as the figure. Higher level of private investment in Bengal, building up manufacturing clusters, effective logistics system and speed up project implementation. Kolkata enjoys several economic advantages, being a financial and commercial center, its ports as well as its connectivity with the Northeast and its neighbouring country Bangladesh. But political fragmentation raises the perception of policy and execution risk.

The investors usually do not take decisions based on one bypoll. But they do pay attention to the stability of political authority, as well as the fact that contracts remain valid after leadership changes, and decisions can be made by administration without interference from factions. A Trinamool tussle that drags on to the Election Commission and then to a lengthy court battle and expulsion of members from the party and competing demands over party property will only create uncertainty for the political leadership to deal with economic management.

The Election Commission needs to therefore complete substantive proceedings in a reasonable timely manner and transparently. While there's an impending election, temporary arrangements must be made, but the suspension of a well-known party identity cannot continue indefinitely. It should be based on evidence of organisation, the party's constitution, its strength and internal elections and not on the politics of the moment or public display.

The immediate challenge on Mamata Banerjee's agenda is to demonstrate that voters can identify him even without the old logo. The other side's struggle is to prove that political legitimacy doesn't come down to one person. The BJP and Left-Congress opposition have an opportunity to split, provided they provide something more than commentaries on Trinamool's squabble.