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Election Commission rejects NCP's plea for 'Charkha'

The Election Commission has rejected the Nationalist Congress Party's request to be granted the 'Charkha' (spinning wheel) as its poll symbol.

The commission today said the NCP has been recognised as a state party in the Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar islands and decided to allot a common symbol for the coming elections to the party.

The commission told the NCP to submit by 1700 hrs tomorrow a list of three symbols in order of preference, any one of which may be reserved for it by the Election Commission in the Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar.

The commission, in its order, said the Indian National Congress-Socialist after its merger with the NCP had extinguished its identity and ''the name and the symbol has now got merged into the identity of the NCP and, therefore, the new formation cannot claim the symbol 'Charkha'." That symbol is now frozen, the commission added.

The Indian National Congress-Socialist was earlier allotted the 'Charkha' symbol and the NCP had requested that the symbol should now be allotted to it as the INC-Socialist had merged with it. However, the Congress party had objected to the NCP's request, contending that in the people's mind, the 'Charkha' was associated with the Congress, which used it as its symbol during the freedom struggle, and urged the EC not to grant the symbol to the NCP.

The full commission had heard both sides and in its order today, the commission said it reaffirmed the principles laid down by it in the judgment in the case relating to the Rashtriya Janata Dal and six other judgments that in the event of the split of a recognised political party, the splinter groups from the main party would have to register themselves as a new political party and will have to contest the general elections as such.

They would gain recognition only according to their poll performance in general elections.

All political parties are reminded that no concession of allotment of a common symbol to any splinter group would be extended to any party unless that party becomes entitled to be recognised as a state party on the basis of its own poll performance.

The commission also noted that various political parties had adopted certain flags in their party constitution but had not mentioned a flag they intend to use in their party constitution. The commission said it would like to examine the designs and colours of flags of political parties at the time of their registration. At an appropriate time, the commission would like to go into the question of flags adopted by the already registered parties also so that any similarity in their flags or their similarity with other national symbols does not create confusion in the minds of the general public, it added.

UNI

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