AGP, BSP, PMK and SSP to share 'elephant' as election symbol

The Asom Gana Parishad, Bahujan Samaj Party, Pattali Makkal Katchi and Sikkim Sangram Parishad have amicably resolved the dispute over the use of the elephant as their election symbol.

The elephant will serve as the BSP's symbol in all states and Union territories except Assam, Pondicherry and Sikkim -- while the AGP, PMK and SSP will have its use in their respective states.

The Election Commission had reserved the elephant as the symbol for the BSP, which is recognised in Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. However, for several years now, the elephant has also served as the symbol of the ruling AGP in Assam, the PMK in Pondicherry and the SSP in Sikkim.

After the BSP petitioned the EC for recognition as a national political party and the elephant as its reserved symbol, the Commission had asked the other parties their views on the issue.

The leaders -- including AGP general secretary Atul Bora and Dr Prabin Chandra Sarma, BSP chief Kanshi Ram, Ezhilmalai of the PMK and the SSP's Dr S Ram Das -- met in New Delhi on Monday to decide on the issue. They also decided that if the AGP contests election in states other than Assam, the PMK outside Pondicherry and the SSP outside Sikkim, they would not do so under the same symbol.

The decision has been conveyed to Election Commissioner G V G Krishnamurty, who said a formal notification in this regard will be issued in a couple of days.

UNI