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.