With the Election Commission expected to announce the poll schedules for Uttar Pradesh and four other States later this week, some experts are of the view that the Samajwadi Party’s ‘cycle’ symbol might be frozen till the issue of which faction has the right to it is decided.
This measure would put the Mulayam and Akhilesh factions on an equal footing.
In 2011, two factions of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal had staked claim to the party symbol “chair.” However, the Commission instead approved two new symbols and party names for the rival groups.
The EC was faced with a similar situation in February 2004 — about three months ahead of the general elections — when a faction led by P.A. Sangma, the then general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party, and the other headed by party president Sharad Pawar staked claim to the party symbol “clock.”
Relative strength
In its March 2004 order, the Commission observed that in the Sadiq Ali case, the Supreme Court had upheld the principle of deciding disputes relating to splits in political parties on the basis of relative strength of the splinter groups in the organisational and legislature wings of the party.
“The Supreme Court held in that matter in 1971 that the test of majority applied by the Commission in the case of split in the Indian National Congress was a valid and relevant test.
The Commission has since then been following and applying this test of numerical majority in the legislature wings and in the organisational wings of the party in all cases of splits,” said the order, which decided the issue in favour of Mr. Pawar.
