The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently made the decision to freeze the election symbol of a political party. This move was authorized under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 which empowers the ECI to recognize political parties and allocate symbols to them.
About Election Symbols
An electoral or election symbol is a standard symbol granted to a political party. These symbols are utilized during the party’s campaigning and are displayed on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Here, voters select the symbol that represents the party they wish to vote for. The introduction of these symbols came as a solution to support illiterate individuals who cannot read the party’s name when casting their votes.
Regulation and Allotment of Electoral Symbols
In the 1960s, it was proposed that the regulation, reservation, and allotment of electoral symbols should be handled through parliamentary law, or Symbol Order. However, the ECI stipulated that the recognition of political parties, along with the allocation of symbols, falls under the authority of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Recognition of Political Parties
The ECI is responsible for registering political parties with the intention of participating in elections, and these parties are acknowledged as national or state parties based on their election performance. Parties that don’t meet these criteria are simply referred to as registered-unrecognised parties. The recognition they receive directly impacts their privileges such as allocation of the party symbols, provision of time for political broadcasts on television and radio stations, and access to electoral rolls.
Allotment of Symbols
Every national party and every state party gets a symbol reserved exclusively for its use throughout the country and the states respectively.
Resolving Disputes Over Symbols
Under Paragraph 15 of the Order, the ECI has the authority to rule on disputes among rival groups or sections of a recognized political party staking claim to its name and symbol. The ECI is the sole authority to determine issues regarding a dispute or a merger under this order. This ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1971 case of Sadiq Ali vs ECI.
Disputes in Registered but Unrecognized Parties
For disputes in registered but unrecognised parties, the ECI typically advises the factions to resolve their differences internally or to approach the court. In almost all disputes decided by the EC so far, a clear majority of party delegates, office bearers, MPs, and MLAs have supported one of the factions.
Procedure Prior to 1968
Before 1968, disputes were handled by way of the EC issuing notifications and executive orders under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. If a faction split from the main party, they would have to register themselves as a separate party and only then could they lay claim to national or state party status based on their performance in state or central elections post registration.