Lok Sabha Election 2024
Election season is currently going on in the country. General elections are being held in India, the world’s largest democracy. Thousands of candidates will try their luck in 543 Lok Sabha seats across the country. Election Commission of India is responsible for conducting these elections. All the candidates contesting the elections will have their own symbols. They will also get ‘tokens’ from their parties. So what is this election symbol? How does any party or candidate achieve this? What is the purpose of giving it? Let’s know the answers to all these questions through this news.
Know the importance of election symbols.
An election symbol is a standard symbol allotted to a political party or candidate. It is used by parties during their election campaigns. It is displayed on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), where the voter selects a symbol and votes for the respective party. Another reason for giving signs is that people who cannot read can identify their candidate by looking at the sign.
How does the candidate get the mark?
The Election Commission of India has a number of electoral symbols. Several parties also inform the Commission of their preference for the mark. If one does not have that mark, it is given. The commission also has reserve symbols like BJP’s lotus flower or Congress’s hand. Apart from this, the commission also has free symbols which are given to any new party or candidate. Independent candidates get marks from the commission. When a political party nominates one of its leaders in an election, it contests the election on the same symbol that its party has received from the Election Commission. What happens is that the national president of the party gives the names of their candidates to the state president, which is called Form-A. After that, the state president of that party gives Form B to the candidates for filing nomination papers. This is what is known as giving a ‘sign’ in common parlance.
What is the order of giving electoral marks?
Elections are defined in Article 324 to Article 329 of Part 15 of the Constitution of India. Article 324 of the Constitution has given the responsibility of conducting elections to the Election Commission itself. Similarly, the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 empowers the Election Commission to recognize and allot symbols to political parties. The Election Commission registers political parties for electoral purposes and recognizes them as national or state parties based on their electoral performance. Each national party and each state party are then allotted one symbol.
When did the marking work begin?
Even before independence in India, political parties like Congress and Muslim League had symbols. However, the distribution of symbols started during the first general elections in the year 1951-1952. During this period, the literacy rate in the country was very low. In order to increase public participation in the elections, the distribution of symbols among the parties and candidates has been started.
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