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Introduction

Election symbols:

An election symbol is a standardised symbol allocated to a political party. Symbols are used
by parties in their campaigning, and printed on ballot papers where a voter must make a mark
to vote for the associated party. Their purpose is to facilitate voting by illiterate people, who
cannot read parties' names on ballot papers. Examples include an elephant's head and three
lotus flowers (Cambodian Democratic Party) and a lotus (Indian Bhartiya Janata Party). In
Brazil parties are allocated two-digit numbers, easily recognised by the illiterate, instead.

"Although the purpose which accounts for the origin of symbols was of a limited character,
the symbol of each political party with the passage of time acquired a great value because the
bulk of the electorate associated the political party at the time of elections with its symbol,1
the supreme court said

In Jyoti Basu v. Debi Ghosal [1982] 3 SCR 318 this Court again pointed out in no uncertain
terms that:"a right to elect, fundamental though it is to democracy, is, anomalously enough,
neither a fundamental right nor a common law right. It is pure and simple a statutory right."

The right to vote at the elections to the House of the People or Legislative Assembly
is a constitutional right but not merely a statutory right; freedom of voting as distinct from
right to vote is a facet of the fundamental right enshrined in Article 19(1) (a). The casting of
vote in favour of one or the other candidate marks the accomplishment of freedom of
expression of the voter.

As per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, the Election
Commission allots symbols for anyone contesting in polls. As of January 11 this year, 164
symbols are available with the Election Commission.

A person contesting on behalf of a recognised political party will inherit the party's symbol.
An independent candidate or someone contesting on behalf of an unrecognised political party
has to approach the Commission and get a symbol allotted from the list of 'free' symbols
available.

1
Sadiq All v. Election Commission, A.1.R.1972 S.C. 187 at 195.
A candidate will have to provide three symbols from the free list at the time of submission of
nomination papers, one of which will be allocated to him/her. Any choice other than from the
EC's list will be summarily rejected.

In the case of a recognised political party, the Commission allows it to 'reserve' a symbol. For
example, if a political party recognised in a particular State wishes to contest in elections in
another State, it can 'reserve' the symbol being used by it. The Commission will oblige,
provided the symbol is not being used by anyone else. The All India Forward Bloc, which
uses Lion as its symbol in West Bengal, approached the Election Commission and reserved
the symbol prior to the recent Uttar Pradesh polls.

Two or more recognised political parties can have the same symbol provided they are not
contenders in the same State or Union Territory. Both Federal Party of Manipur and
DravidaMunnetraKazhagam (DMK) use 'Rising Sun' as their symbol. But if one of the parties
wish to open their account in the other State, it will have to contest on a different symbol.
This is why the BahujanSamaj Party will have to choose a different symbol if it contests in
Assam, since AsomGanaParishad also uses 'Elephant' symbol.

The Election Commission may also derecognise a political party if it has not polled at least
six per cent of votes or won two seats in the State elections. In case of a national party, it
should have polled minimum six per cent votes and 2 MLAs in at least four States. Until
1997, unrecognised parties would lose their symbols. Later, the EC modified its order to
allow them to retain its symbol.

In case a recognised political party splits, the Commission decides which faction can use the
symbol. In the case of Samajwadi Party, the EC allotted 'Bicycle' to the Akhilesh Yadav
faction. The Commission may also choose to freeze the symbol and ask both factions to
contest in fresh symbols, just as how it did with AIADMK's 'Two Leaves' now and with
Congress in 1969 when the party had split as Congress (R) and Congress (O).

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