Election symbols: A complex matter of choice & sanction

The Sena vs Sena battle has brought the focus back on how poll symbols are issued. Here are the hows and whys of an issue that’s more than symbolic:
How does EC compile/update its list of notified free symbols?
The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 provides for specification, reservation, choice and allotment of symbols to political parties or candidates in a parliamentary or assembly election.The EC, being the implementing authority of this order, has been notifying the list of poll symbols since the first general election, including those ‘reserved’ for exclusive use by candidates put up by recognised national and state parties and the ‘free’ ones allotted to candidates of registered unrecognised parties or independent contestants.
All poll symbols are the property of the EC. Care is taken while preparing the list of free symbols so that they don’t resemble one another or a reserved symbol. Free symbols depict easily identifiable items that the voter, even if illiterate, can rely on to distinguish one candidate from another. The free symbols list — as last updated on September 23, 2021 — had 197 entries.
The list is dynamic in the sense that some free symbols become reserved when a new party gets enough votes or is elected to get recognised at the state level. Also, when a recognised party loses the status of a state party, its reserved symbol is not touched for a minimum of six years. Thereafter, the reserved symbol can be declared free. A new party can pick three symbols from the free list or propose a symbol not on the list. The EC evaluates the proposed symbol names and design to ensure that they do not bear resemblance to any other symbol. The symbols order also restricts allotment of a symbol reserved for a state party in states where it is not recognised; or one that has a religious or communal connotation.
Lastly, the EC had consciously decided in 1991 not to notify or allot any symbol that depicts an animal or bird after complaints were received about the animal being subjected to cruelty during campaigns. In 2005, the EC stopped allotting party names along religious/communal lines. This is why the EC denied two fresh symbols to the factions of Shiv Sena — ‘trishul’ and ‘mace’ — in view of their religious connotation.
What are reserved symbols and how often is this list reviewed?
The reserved symbols are held only by recognised national and state parties. A state party recognised in one or more states is entitled to use its reserved symbol not only in those states but, in case it decides to contest from states where it is not recognised, it will have first right to its reserved symbol in that state. This is why the reserved symbol of a recognised state party is not allotted for use by candidates of other parties even in states where it is not recognised. Like the ‘free’ symbols list, the list of reserved symbols is dynamic, with a party retaining its reserved symbol as long as it fulfils conditions of recognition at the national or state level.
Are there broad dos and don’ts on what constitutes a symbol?
The EC picks free symbols that are items of common use and have a distinct shape and form so that they can help a voter distinguish between one candidate from another in a ballot paper. Also, the symbols order restricts allotment of symbols with a religious or communal connotation. Unrecognised or new parties and independents seeking to contest an election can either pick from the list of free symbols or propose three new ones. In the first case, they can give names of 10 symbols, in order of preference, from the list of free symbols notified in the order. Alternatively, they can propose three new symbols till three months before expiry of the assembly term, in order of preference.
Why are animals and birds etc off the list?
Prior to March 1991, the EC had specified a number of birds and animals as election symbols. However, it was represented to the EC in the late 1980s that such birds and animals were being subjected to cruelty by candidates. In one case, it was reported that hundreds of pigeons were slaughtered at public meetings by parties and candidates contesting against the party with the ‘pigeon’ symbol. In March 1991, the EC took a policy decision not to specify any animal or bird as a poll symbol. The list of free symbols notified on March 5, 1991 thus deleted pigeon, eagle, horse, zebra, goat and fish from the list of symbols.
As for parties with reserved symbols depicting animals, the EC requested them to voluntarily surrender them. While All India Forward Bloc (having lion as its symbol) and Mizo National Front (with a tiger symbol) agreed to the EC’s request, BSP, AGP and Sikkim Sangram Parishad (all allotted ‘elephant’ as symbol) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Hill State People’s Democratic Party (allotted ‘lion’ as symbol) refused to give up, arguing that these depicted big animals that could not be subjected to cruelty.
Can a party seek change in its ‘reserved’ symbol?
Yes, there have been many such instances. Both Congress and BJP symbols have changed on account of splits and mergers. Like, the Congress symbol was ‘a pair of bullocks carrying yoke’ between 1952 and 1969; after Indira Gandhi launched her own faction INC(R), the symbol was changed to ‘cow with suckling calf’ even as the ‘original’ Congress retained the ‘bullocks carrying yoke’ symbol. The current Congress symbol, ‘palm’, was used first in 1977. Similarly, Bharatiya Jana Sangh’s (BJS) original election symbol from 1951 to 1977 was ‘oil lamp’. After BJS merged with Janata Party in 1977, the symbol changed to ‘farmer with plough’. BJP’s current symbol, lotus, was allotted in 1980 when former Jana Sangh members split with Janata Party to form BJP.
Can a free and reserved symbol resemble each other?
Not only can there not be any resemblance between a free and reserved symbol but also between any of the poll symbols, whether free or reserved. For instance, the ‘mace’ symbol sought by Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction was found too similar to a ‘spinning top’ and its other preference, the ‘sun (without rays)’ symbol, was similar to free symbols like apple, cabbage or football. The idea behind keeping poll symbols distinct from one another in shape, size and form is to avoid any confusion in the mind of the voter when he/ she looks at the ballot paper.