The Election Commission has accepted the request of YSR Congress to allow it to use the “fan symbol” from among the free symbols of the Commission in the ensuing Assembly and Lok Sabha elections 2014 too and has sent a formal letter to that effect to the party.
Informed sources said though the YSRC had won 17 Assembly and two Lok Sabha seats using “fan” as its election symbol, the party could not get EC’s recognition as it had won the seats in the by-elections.
Only the outcome in the general elections to the Assembly or Lok Sabha is taken into consideration for recognising a political party as a “State party”, subject to fulfilment of other rules and regulations of the Commission. The by-election results are not considered whatever may be the outcome. So, presently the YSRC is only a registered party with the Commission.
For getting “recognition”, a party has to secure a minimum of eight per cent of the total votes polled in the general elections to the Assembly/Lok Sabha or should have secured six per cent votes in those polls and one seat for every 25 seats of Lok Sabha from that State or one seat for every 30 seats in the State Legislative Assembly.
EC recognition will entail the parties to participate in the all-party meetings convened by the EC/the State/Central governments, get a permanent common symbol for all their contestants, privilege to address the voters through the All India Radio and Doordarshan during poll.
Recognised ‘State’ parties need only one proposer for filing the nomination and are entitled for two sets of electoral rolls free of cost.
