Election symbols are standardized icons associated with a specific political party. They play an integral role in the electoral process, appearing on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for voters to choose their preferred party. Election symbols were first introduced to aid illiterate citizens who could not read the names of political parties while casting votes.
One of the major proposals from the 1960s was that the regulation, reservation, and allotment of election symbols should be legislated through Parliament, under what was referred to as the Symbol Order. The Election Commission of India (ECI), however, responded that the recognition of political parties and the allotment of symbols is governed by the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
The Election Commission’s Authority in Symbol Disputes
The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 provides the ECI with the power to recognize political parties and allot symbols. According to Paragraph 15 of the Order, the ECI also has the authority to adjudicate disputes between rival factions within a recognized political party claiming the same name and symbol.
The Symbols Order declares that the ECI can make a decision regarding which group, if any, is recognized as the political party after considering all available facts and circumstances. This ruling is binding and applies to both recognized national and state parties. In case of disputes within registered but unrecognized parties, the ECI generally advises the factions to resolve their differences internally or seek legal intervention.
How The Election Commission Makes Decisions
To determine which faction within a party has majority support, the ECI examines the support that a claimant has within both the organizational and legislative wings of the political party.
In terms of the Organizational Wing, the Commission reviews the party’s constitution and its list of office-bearers from when the party was united. It identifies the organization’s apex committees and determines how many office-bearers, members or delegates support the rival claimants.
As for the Legislative Wing, the ECI goes by the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the rival factions, potentially considering affidavits filed by these members to validate their standing. If one faction appears to dominate in both wings, the ECI may decide the dispute in favor of this faction and may allow the other group to register as a separate political party.
What Happens When There’s No Clear Majority?
When a party is evenly divided, or it cannot be definitively determined which group holds the majority, the ECI has the option to freeze the party’s symbol. The factions are then permitted to register themselves under new names or add prefixes or suffixes to the existing party name.
What if Rival Factions Reunite?
Should the factions manage to reunite, they can approach the ECI to be recognized as a unified party. The ECI also has the authority to recognize the merger of groups into a single entity and can reinstate the original party’s name and symbol.