A curious contest is heating up among India’s political parties as the country prepares for the biggest democratic exercise in history when 714 million voters go to the polls in the spring.
Parties are fighting to secure the right to symbols they hope will appeal to hundreds of millions of India’s illiterate voters.
For decades, when Indians have entered the polling booth they have been presented not just with a list of parties and candidates, but also a variety of household items sketched on the ballot paper to help the 1 in 4 voters who cannot read.
For the ruling Congress Party it is an open palm. For India’s main opposition party, the BJP, it is a blossoming lotus flower.
Whistles, coconuts, walking sticks, nail clippers, cauliflowers and toothbrushes have all been used as political symbols upon which illiterate voters can press a thumb print to mark their choice of party.
The Rashtriya Ulama Council uses a kettle, while the Republican Party of India uses a refrigerator. The Aadarshwadi Congress Party uses a batsman at the crease.
However, in India’s vibrant and chaotic democracy, some popular symbols such as the elephant or clock are often claimed by several parties, leading to squabbles over which one has the right to use them.
A foretaste of the turmoil ahead was offered this week, when two parties in the Delhi assembly elections, due to be held tomorrow, clashed over the right to use the bicycle, a perennial favourite.
Only after intervention by election officials did the parties grudgingly agree to a compromise deal under which the Samajwadi Party (SP) will fight under the banner of the glass tumbler, while the Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party (JKPP) will plump for the instant camera.
Adding to potential confusion among voters, in another nearby constituency, Ballimaran, the SP is fighting under the symbol of the cup-and-saucer while the JKPP is running under the ceiling fan.
via Confusion over Indian election symbols used for millions of illiterate voters | The Times.
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