How is an Election Symbol Allotted?
The Election Commission of India (ECI) recognizes and allots election symbols for national and state-level political parties if they comply with the relevant criteria. Political Parties are classified as Recognized and Unrecognized:
Recognized Political Party- In the case of recognized political parties, the Commission allows them to ‘reserve’ a symbol, once it is allocated to them after their establishment. For example- BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), INC (Indian National Congress), NCP (Nationalist Congress Party), BSP ( Bahujan Samaj Party), CPI (Communist Party of India), etc. have reserved election symbols. There are eight national parties and 64 state parties with reserved symbols.
- Even two or more recognized political parties can have the same election Symbol when they are not contenders in the same state or Union Territory. For example- In Tamil Nadu the DMK and in Manipur the Federal Party have the same symbol, i.e. “Rising Sun”
Unrecognized Political Party- The candidates from the political party will have to provide three symbols from the free list at the time of submission of nomination papers, one of which will be allotted to him/her. It is decided on a first-come, first-served basis. The parties can also offer their own symbols but the final decision is taken by the EC, it can either accepts or rejects.
- In addition, the Election Commission maintains a pool of approximately 200 “free” symbols for new parties that are not officially recognised but emerge before elections. The Commission determines the symbol to be used when a recognised political party splits.
Power of Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a self-governing constitutional authority that supervises the Election process in India as per the Indian Constitution. On January 25, 1950, the ECI was established to define and control our nation’s multi-tiered electoral process. The most crucial role of the Election Commission of India is to make sure that elections are conducted fairly and in accordance with the Model Code of Conduct.
Under Article 324(2), the ECI comprises a Chief Election Commissioner and two other Election Commissioners who are appointed by the President of India for a period of 6 years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever comes first. The multi-member ECI operates under the majority vote principle.
Table of Content
- What is Election Symbols?
- How is an Election Symbol Allotted?
- Powers of Election Commission in Election Symbol Dispute:
- Can anyone challenge the decision of the Election Commission?