Context
Recently, the Election Commission of India (ECI) decided to freeze the election symbol of a Political Party.
About election symbol
- An election symbol refers to a standardized symbol allocated to a political party.
- They are used by the parties during their campaigning
- They are shown on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), where the voter chooses the symbol and votes for the associated party.
- The concept was introduced for the voting by people, who cannot read the name of the party while casting their votes.
- Since India held its first national polls in 1951-52, symbols have become a crucial part of the electoral process ever.
Types of Election Symbol
- As per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2017, party symbols are either “reserved” or “free”.
- Reserved: Eight national parties and 64 state parties across the country have “reserved” symbols
- Free: ECI has a pool of nearly 200 “free” symbols. These symbols are allotted to the thousands of unrecognised regional parties in the country.
Who is empowered to allot election symbol?
- The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 empowers the Election Commission of India (ECI) to recognize political parties and allot symbols.
