PRP planning to move Supreme Court

VV Balakrishna
First Published : 03 Mar 2009 04:39:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 03 Mar 2009 02:22:27 PM IST

HYDERABAD: With the first phase of elections hardly 40 days away, there is high anxiety in the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) camp over its common election symbol. After the Election Commission (EC) rejected allotment of a common symbol for the newly-formed PRP, its general secretary Allu Aravind moved the High Court seeking `rail engine’ (locomotive) as the symbol for the party.

Though the court directed the EC to settle the issue within three weeks, there has been no reply from the EC to the PRP till now. With the chance of getting a common election symbol being remote, PRP chief Chiranjeevi said in Mahaboobnagar today, “We will explore all legal options to get the common symbol.” The PRP is planning to move the Supreme Court in this regard. The EC clearly stated that it was not possible to allot a common symbol for any new political party. To get the symbol, the party had to contest at least in one election and get six per cent of the total polled votes.

The PRP think tank had even thought of contesting on the symbol of any another recognised party which had no presence in the State. The PRP considered the NCP and other parties for using their symbols. But it would again have created problems for the PRP, as the party leadership would have had to depend upon the other party for issuing B-forms for its candidates. In such a case, the PRP could not have claimed its strength as the votes secured by PRP candidates would not have been treated as its votes. All the votes would have been claimed by the recognised party allowing the PRP to contest on its symbol.

In case the PRP got full strength in the Assembly, recognition of the MLAs as PRP members would also have been doubtful.

The PRP leadership has now dropped the idea of fielding its candidates on some other party symbol, according to sources. The only option left out for the PRP is to approach the apex court. If the PRP gets a symbol, well and good. Otherwise, all the 294 Assembly and 42 Lok Sabha candidates will get independent symbols. As the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously, the PRP leadership will have to promote two symbols in every Assembly segment — one for the Assembly candidate and another for the Lok Sabha candidate. Even if it gets a common symbol, popularising it in a short span of time will be a herculean task, feel analysts.