How Election Commission decides on party symbols?

Why in News?

Bihar Assembly Election 2020: Voters can expect to see a myriad of symbols like chapatti roller, dolli, bangles, capsicum on the ballots.

What is the need for election symbols?

The symbols help the several unrecognised parties and independent candidates differentiate themselves from one another and help voters identify the party of their choice.

How many types of symbols are there?

As per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2017, party symbols are either:

Reserved: Eight national parties and 64 state parties across the country have “reserved” symbols.

Free: The Election Commission also has a pool of nearly 200 “free” symbols that are allotted to the thousands of unrecognised regional parties that pop up before elections.

How are symbols allotted to political parties?

As per the guidelines, to get a symbol allotted:

A party/candidate has to provide a list of three symbols from the EC’s free symbols list at the time of filing nomination papers.

Among them, one symbol is allotted to the party/candidate on a first-come-first-serve basis.

When a recognised political party splits, the Election Commission takes the decision on assigning the symbol.

Powers of Election Commission:

The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 empowers the EC to recognise political parties and allot symbols.

Under Paragraph 15 of the Order, it can decide disputes among rival groups or sections of a recognised political party staking claim to its name and symbol.

The EC is also the only authority to decide issues on a dispute or a merger. The Supreme Court upheld its validity in Sadiq Ali and another vs. ECI in 1971.