Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968

Also called: Symbols Order · Topic: Political Parties, Party Systems and Anti-defection · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"; Class 10, Ch 4 "Political Parties"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Election and Representation"

Meaning

The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968, or Symbols Order, is a rulebook made by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The ECI made it under Article 324 of the Constitution, read with Rules 5 and 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961. The Order does four things:

• It decides which parties are "recognised" as National or State parties.
• It reserves symbols for these parties.
• It allots symbols to candidates.
• It settles fights between rival groups over a party's name and symbol.

It matters because a party's symbol is how most voters find it on the ballot. Recognition also brings real advantages in a campaign. So this ECI order shapes how parties compete in India.

Explanation

How the Order works

• Legal base. Article 324 puts the ECI in charge of the "superintendence, direction and control" of elections. Using this power, the ECI issued the Order.
• It also rests on Rules 5 and 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961. These rules deal with the list of symbols and how symbols are given to candidates.

• It is an ECI order, not an Act of Parliament.

• What it covers [3]:

• choosing, reserving and allotting symbols for Lok Sabha and assembly seats;

• recognising political parties for the purpose of symbols.

• Registered vs recognised.

• Any party can register with the ECI under s.29A of the Representation of the People Act 1951 (RPA).

• Registration alone does not make a party recognised. A registered party becomes a State or National party only when it passes the tests in the Symbols Order [3].

• What recognition gives a party:

Benefit	What it means
Reserved symbol	Only this party's candidates can use it. A national party has it all over India. A state party has it only inside its state.
One proposer	Its candidate needs only 1 proposer (a voter who signs the nomination). Independents and candidates of unrecognised parties need 10.
Electoral rolls	Free copies of the electoral rolls (the lists of voters)
Broadcast time	Free time on Doordarshan and All India Radio during elections (s.39A, RPA 1951)
Star campaigners	Up to 40 star campaigners. Their travel costs are not added to the candidate's spending limit.
Consultation	The ECI consults recognised parties on election matters, such as the Model Code of Conduct.

Tests for recognition (paras 6A and 6B)

State party (para 6A). A party must pass any one of these tests in a state:

1. 6% of valid votes + 2 MLAs in an assembly election.
2. 6% of valid votes in the state + 1 MP in a Lok Sabha election.
3. 3% of assembly seats or 3 seats, whichever is more.
4. 1 Lok Sabha seat for every 25 seats (or part of 25) that the state has.
5. 8% of valid votes, with no seat needed (added in 2011). This is the "liberal test". It helps parties that win many votes but few seats.

National party (para 6B). A party must pass any one of these tests:

1. 6% of valid votes in four or more states (in Lok Sabha or assembly polls) + at least 4 Lok Sabha seats [3].
2. 2% of Lok Sabha seats (11 of 543), won from at least three states.
3. Recognition as a state party in four or more states.

Keeping recognition, losing it and splits

• Continued recognition (para 6C), amended 22 August 2016 [2]. It now works in three steps [3]: 1. A party wins recognition at one general election. 2. At the next general election it may fail the tests. It still stays recognised. 3. After the election after that, it must pass para 6A or 6B again, or it loses its status.

• Effect: status is checked after two elections in a row, not after every election. Parties get a grace period of one election.

• Suspension or withdrawal (para 16A). The ECI can suspend or withdraw a party's recognition if the party:

• breaks the Model Code of Conduct (the ECI's rules on how parties and candidates must behave during elections); or

• ignores the ECI's lawful directions.

• Splits (para 15). Sometimes a party breaks into rival groups and each group says it is the "real" party. The ECI then decides which group gets the party's name and symbol.

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits. Article 324 gives the ECI the power. The Order works alongside the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 (Rules 5 and 10) and the RPA 1951:
• s.29A covers registration;

• s.39A covers free broadcast time.

• Who uses it.

• The ECI recognises and de-recognises parties, allots symbols and decides split disputes.

• Parties and candidates depend on it for their symbols and benefits.

• Sadiq Ali v. ECI (1971). The Supreme Court upheld the Symbols Order. Article 324 gives the ECI full control of elections, so the ECI can decide symbol disputes between rival groups.

• National People's Party (2015). The ECI suspended the NPP's recognition under para 16A [4].
• Review of 10 April 2023 [2]:
• Gained national status: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
• Lost national status:
  • TMC, which also lost state status in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur;
  • NCP, which also lost state status in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya;
  • CPI, which also lost state status in West Bengal and Odisha.
• New state parties: Tipra Motha (Tripura), Voice of the People Party (Meghalaya) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (Nagaland).
• Lost state status: Rashtriya Lok Dal (Uttar Pradesh) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (Andhra Pradesh), among others. The BRS was formerly the TRS.

• Result: six national parties: INC, BJP, BSP, CPI(M), AAP and NPP.

• NCERT updates.

• The Class 10 text speaks of "seven" national parties. After April 2023 the number is six.
• The NPP is the first national party from the North-East. It gained national status in 2019.
• The ECI may review the list again after the 2024 Lok Sabha election and later assembly polls. Check the current list on the ECI website before the exam.

Don't confuse with

• Registration under s.29A, RPA 1951: registration comes from a law of Parliament and has no vote test. Recognition comes from the Symbols Order and needs vote or seat tests. Only recognised parties get a reserved symbol [3].
• Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law): the Speaker or Chairman uses it to disqualify individual legislators who defect. Para 15 of the Symbols Order lets the ECI decide which group of a split party keeps the name and symbol. These are two separate processes run by two different bodies.
• State party vs "regional party": "State party" is a legal status given under para 6A. "Regional party" is a loose label in NCERT. Some such parties are organised across India but strong in one state. Others are built around one state's identity.
• Para 16A suspension vs para 6C loss: under para 16A, recognition is suspended or withdrawn as a penalty for breaking the Model Code or ignoring ECI directions. Under para 6C, a party loses status because of poor results in two elections in a row.

Prelims Hooks

• The Symbols Order 1968 is an ECI order under Art. 324, read with Rules 5 and 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961. It is not an Act of Parliament.
• Sadiq Ali v. ECI (1971) upheld the Order and the ECI's power to settle symbol disputes. Para 15 covers splits.
• Para 6A = state party tests. Para 6B = national party tests. Para 6C = continued recognition, amended 22 August 2016 [2]. Para 16A = suspension or withdrawal (used against the NPP in 2015) [4].
• 8% of votes with no seat became a state party test in 2011. The national party seat test is 2% of Lok Sabha seats (11) from at least 3 states.
• 10 April 2023: AAP became a national party, and TMC, NCP and CPI lost national status. This left six national parties [2].
• Trap: a candidate of a recognised party needs 1 proposer. Other candidates need 10. A party registered under s.29A is not automatically recognised [3].

Mains Points

• Votes vs seats.
• Under first-past-the-post, the candidate with the most votes wins the seat, even without a majority. So a party can win many votes but few seats.
• The 8% test (2011) and the 2016 grace period make recognition depend less on winning seats. This is fairer to such parties.

• Critics say the grace period lets parties keep privileges they no longer earn [2][3].

• The ECI's power and accountability.

• Recognition, de-recognition (as on 10 April 2023) and split disputes all rest on an ECI order under Art. 324, not on a law made by Parliament.
• Sadiq Ali (1971) upheld this power.

• Some argue that Parliament should write the recognition rules into law, to make them more transparent and less dependent on the ECI's judgement.

• Level playing field and federalism.

• A reserved symbol, free broadcast time and 40 star campaigners favour parties that are already established. Independents and new parties find it harder to compete.
• One reform idea: share broadcast time by vote share, with a minimum for new parties.
• State-level recognition has also helped state parties grow since the 1990s. This made coalition governments (governments formed by several parties together) normal and the party system more federal.

Related concepts

• Recognised political party
• National party
• State party
• Indian National Congress

Read more

• Recognition: national and state parties