Election Symbols

Two parties can share the same symbol, provided that they are not contesting against each other

Two new election symbols have been released by the Election Commission—a pen nib with seven rays and a chappal (slipper), at the behest of some Andhra Pradesh parties. These symbols join 84 other free symbols released by the EC for this General Election. An Independent candidate or a political party looking for a logo has a wide range to choose from.

Many of them are seemingly bizarre, like a tent, a table lamp and even a plate stand. Some of these symbols date back as far as 1951- 1952 and that is the reason they may seem out of whack with the times. The EC does not come up these symbols, but merely approves and standardi ses them. It says that the reason for these seemingly absurd symbols may be traced to the fact that the masses must easily be able to relate to them. Plus, they need to be non-provocative and must not hurt anybody’s religious sentiments. AAP’s broom was picked from this very list (and not a Harry Potter book as some suspect).

Despite the wide variety to choose from, some political parties share symbols. According to the Election Symbol Reservations and Allotment order, 1968, it is the EC’s job to allot ‘different symbols to different contesting candidates’ within the same constituency. This does not, however, rule out the same symbol being allotted to more than one party if they are not contesting against each other. For example, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Asom Gana Parishad both have an elephant as their symbol but since their constituencies do not overlap, this does not really matter. But on the occasion of a clash, the EC may freeze a symbol.

Election symbols play a primary role in India. To those who cannot read, a party’s symbol serves as its identity.

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