New Delhi: The Election Commission on Tuesday allotted the ‘Two Swords and Shield’ poll symbol to Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde till the factional dispute in Shiv Sena is resolved., according to media reports
The Shinde faction had on Tuesday reverted to the poll panel with a fresh list of preferred symbols after all its three choices — Trishul (trident), Rising Sun and Gada (mace) — were turned down by the poll panel the day before. While Trishul and Gada were rejected on account of their religious connotation, Rising Sun was denied as it is the reserved symbol of DMK.
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28 April 2025
The fresh list submitted by the Shinde group proposed three new symbols — “Sun/Surya/Sooraj”, “Dhaal Talwar” (shield and sword) and Peepal Tree. Incidentally, none of these figures in the EC list of notified free symbols. The Commission, while denying the faction Sun/Surya/Sooraj as poll symbol, decided to go with the second preference Dhaal Talwar, albeit with a tweak.
Saying Dhaal Talwar resembles an erstwhile reserved symbol — “Do Talwarein aur Ek Dhal” (two swords and a shield) allotted to People’s Democratic Party that was derecognised in 2004 and delisted on December 26, 2016, the EC said it had, based on Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’s request, decided to declare “do talwarein aur ek dhal” to be a free symbol and allot it to the candidate to be put up by the group.
Sharing reasons for rejecting the Eknath Shinde group’s first preference, “Sun/Surya/Sooraj”, the EC said the name of the proposed symbol resembled that of the “sun (without rays)” symbol reserved for Zoram Nationalist Party, a recognised state party in Mizoram, and “rising sun” symbol of DMK.
Para nine of Symbols Order restricts allotment of symbols reserved for state parties in states where such parties are not recognised.
Even in design, the EC pointed out that the “sun” symbol proposed by Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena resembled Zoram Nationalist Party’s “sun (without rays)” symbol and could also be confused with other f ree symbols notified by EC, such as apple, cauliflower and football.
