Reserved symbol
Topic: Political Parties, Party Systems and Anti-defection · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A reserved symbol belongs only to a recognised party under the Election Symbols Order 1968. A national party's symbol is reserved for it across India. A state party's symbol is reserved for it only within that state. No other candidate may use it. When rival groups fight over a party, the ECI can freeze the symbol until the dispute is settled.
Example
The lotus is the BJP's reserved symbol and the hand is the Congress's. On 17 February 2023, after the Shiv Sena split, the ECI gave the party's name and its bow-and-arrow symbol to Eknath Shinde's faction.
Don't confuse with
- Free symbol: a symbol from the ECI's general list that Returning Officers give to independents and candidates of unrecognised parties.