The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968

#GS-2 #Indian Polity & Constitution #Constitutional Bodies #Election Symbols Order #Election Commission of India

Context

A satirical youth pressure group named the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) recently organized its first physical protest at Jantar Mantar located in New Delhi.

The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 functions as a complete legal framework that gives power to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
It allows the poll body to specify, reserve, allot choices for, and regulate election symbols used by political parties and independent candidates.
This order acts as the core rulebook for handling the visual identities of political contestants during all parliamentary and legislative assembly elections.

The Election Commission of India officially issued this order on August 31, 1968.
The poll panel used powers given to it under Article 324 of the Constitution of India.
These powers were read along with Rule 5 and Rule 10 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.

The order divides political groups into two clear administrative tiers based on their past electoral success.
These two administrative tiers are Recognized Parties and Unrecognized Parties.
Candidates from recognized National and State parties receive their party's exclusive and permanently reserved symbol automatically.
Other candidates across the country or state cannot use these reserved symbols under any circumstances.
The ECI manages and updates a dynamic list of free symbols specifically for unrecognized parties and independent candidates.
These free symbols include everyday household items, fruits, and vegetables like an air-conditioner, balloon, jackfruit, or TV remote.
The poll body distributes these free symbols on a fluid, first-come-first-served application basis rather than guaranteeing them.
The ECI stopped assigning living creatures as symbols during the 1990s.
This total ban on live animals followed strong demands from animal welfare activists who pointed out the extreme cruelty faced by live roosters during the 1989 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Parties that gained formal recognition and received an animal symbol before the 1990s directive can keep their legacy icons as rare exceptions.
The most notable example of this legacy exception is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and its elephant symbol.