Fight for Symbol When Party Splits

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Fight for symbol when party splits
• How does the ECI decide who gets the symbol?
• What criteria does ECI use to resolve a symbol dispute?
• What happens to the group that doesn’t get the parent party’s symbol?

 

Why in news?

• Recently, Ajit Pawar, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), became the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. 
• After becoming the Dy CM, he removed his uncle, Sharad Pawar, from the position of party president.
• Now, he has written to the Election Commission (EC) seeking recognition of his faction as the real NCP.

 

Fight for symbol when party splits

• Splits in India’s political parties, over issues of leadership, are not uncommon.
• When a prominent party splits, a tussle often ensues for its election symbol. This symbol is frequently considered as the embodiment of the identity of the party.
• Recently, in February 2023, the EC decided on a dispute among the Shiv Sena.
  • It gave the official name of the party, as well as the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol, to the Eknath Shinde faction.
• In October 2021, the ECI had frozen the ‘Bungalow’ election symbol of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).
  • The LJP had split in June 2021.
• Before that, tussles over the election symbol had been witnessed in 2017 after the Samajwadi Party (Cycle) and the AIADMK (Two leaves) split.

 

How does the ECI decide who gets the symbol?

• It is decided as per the provisions of the Symbols Order, 1968. This rule applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties. 
  • Para 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968 empowers EC to decide on the claim of rival factions in case of split. 
    • EC decides on the issue after taking into account all the available facts and circumstances of the case and hearing their representatives.
• The decision of the Commission is binding on all such rival sections or groups.
• For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the ECI usually advises the warring factions to resolve their differences internally or to approach the court.

 

What criteria does ECI use to resolve a symbol dispute?

• Generally, the EC’s decision is based on three tests as outlined in the Sadiq Ali case (supra). These tests include:
  • Test of Aims and Objects of the Party Constitution; 
  • Test of Party Constitution; and 
  • Test of Majority
• 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.
• Whenever the EC could not test the strength of rival groups based on support within the party organisation (because of disputes regarding the list of office bearers), it fell back on testing the majority only among elected MPs and MLAs.
• If both legislative win and organisational win are found indecisive, the ECI also freezes the symbol and asks both factions to choose a new symbol.

 

What happens to the group that doesn’t get the parent party’s symbol?

• Before 1997, EC used to recognise the party, not getting the symbol, based on the criteria fixed for recognition of parties under Paras 6 and 7 of the Symbols Order.
  • I.e., if the breakaway party had support of sufficient MPs/MLAs as per the criteria, it was recognised by EC as National/State Party.
• The EC in 1997 felt that merely having MPs and MLAs is not enough, as the elected representatives had fought and won polls on tickets of their parent (undivided) parties.
• The EC introduced a new rule under which the splinter group of the party — other than the group that got the party symbol — had to register itself as a separate party.
• These parties could lay claim to national or state party status only on the basis of its performance in state or central elections after registration.

 

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Q1) What is Election Commission of India?

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.

 

Q2) Who allots the party symbol?

The party symbols are allocated by the Election Commission of India. A symbol assigned to a party designated as a national party can not be used by other parties in the country. A symbol assigned to a state party in one state can be allocated to different state party in another state.

 

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Source: NCP leadership tussle between Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar: How the EC resolves these disputes | Ministry of Law and Justice | Indian Express | Deccan Herald