CLOCK’ SYMBOL

TAG: GS-2: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

THE CONTEXT: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking directions to restrain the use of the ‘clock’ election symbol in the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra.

EXPLANATION:

• A party is recognised as a ‘national’ or ‘state’ party under the provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
• The criteria for recognition at the State level consists of:
  • Winning one Lok Sabha seat for every 25 seats or 3% of Legislative Assembly seats or
  • Winning one Lok Sabha or two Assembly seats along with 6% of votes polled or
  • Securing 8% of votes polled in a general election.
• Symbols are allotted to political parties and contesting candidates as per the provisions of the Symbols Order by ECI.
• A recognized political party has a reserved symbol that is not allotted to any other candidate in any constituency.
• For registered but unrecognized political parties, one of the free symbols is allotted as a common symbol during an election if that party contests in two Lok Sabha constituencies or in 5% of seats to the Assembly of a State as the case may be.

Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968:

• Under Paragraph 15 of the Order, EC can decide disputes among rival groups or sections of a recognised political party staking claim to its name and symbol.
  • The EC is the only authority to decide issues on a dispute or a merger under the order. The Supreme Court (SC) upheld its validity in Sadiq Ali and another vs. ECI in 1971.
• This applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties.
• For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the EC usually advises the warring 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.
• Before 1968, the EC issued notifications and executive orders under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
• The splinter group of the party – other than the group that got the party symbol – had to register itself as a separate party.
  • They could lay claim to national or state party status only on the basis of its performance in state or central elections after registration.

Source:  https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/who-gets-the-preferred-symbol-when-there-are-two-factions-explained/article68750040.ece