NEW DELHI: Days after indicating readiness to hold assembly polls in J&K in the wake of successful Lok Sabha elections, Election Commission announced that it would accept “with immediate effect” any application seeking allotment of ‘common symbol’ from registered unrecognised parties in the UT.
Unrecognised parties can apply for a ‘common poll symbol’ – on which all the candidates fielded by it shall contest – up to six months prior to end of term of the House.With no J&K assembly in existence, EC’s press statement inviting applications for a ‘common symbol’ points to imminent polls in the state.
SC, in a verdict issued in Dec last year, had ordered EC to hold assembly polls in J&K latest by September 30, 2024.
While recognised national and state parties contest polls in their ‘reserved symbols’, registered unrecognised parties have to apply for one before a poll and many choose any of the free symbols listed by EC.
While announcing the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections in March, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar had reasoned that holding assembly and Parliamentary elections simultaneously in J&K was not feasible due to logistical and security reasons. He had said that with hundreds of candidates in the fray for an assembly poll, the available central paramilitary forces would fall short.
Unrecognised parties can apply for a ‘common poll symbol’ – on which all the candidates fielded by it shall contest – up to six months prior to end of term of the House.With no J&K assembly in existence, EC’s press statement inviting applications for a ‘common symbol’ points to imminent polls in the state.
SC, in a verdict issued in Dec last year, had ordered EC to hold assembly polls in J&K latest by September 30, 2024.
While recognised national and state parties contest polls in their ‘reserved symbols’, registered unrecognised parties have to apply for one before a poll and many choose any of the free symbols listed by EC.
While announcing the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections in March, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar had reasoned that holding assembly and Parliamentary elections simultaneously in J&K was not feasible due to logistical and security reasons. He had said that with hundreds of candidates in the fray for an assembly poll, the available central paramilitary forces would fall short.
