Section 217: Allocation of symbols

217. Allocation of symbols.—(1) The Commission shall allocate a symbol to a political party if the political party complies with the provisions of this Act. (2) A candidate nominated by a political party for an election in any constituency shall be allotted the symbol allocated to that political party by the Returning Officer. (3) A symbol allocated to a political party by the Commission shall not be allotted to any candidate in a constituency other than the candidate nominated by that political party. (4) Subject to the direction of the Commission, in a bye-election, the Returning Officer shall allot to a candidate nominated by a political party the symbol allocated to that political party in the previous general election. (5) In every constituency where an election is contested, the Returning Officer shall allot visibly different and distinct symbols to each contesting candidate. Explanation.—In this section, the expression ‘political party’ includes a combination of political parties who have agreed to put up joint candidates.

Effective date: 2017-10-02

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