Securing the right symbol is critical because it is an identifier for thousands who can’t read but also because of its evocative powers.
MUMBAI: Luck has cast its lot with Chanda Devi, a washerwoman, who is among the 1,300 independent candidates contesting the BMC election. A random draw held at the local election office on Saturday gave Chanda Devi, a candidate from ward 84 in Kalina, an ‘iron’ for her poll symbol.
“It was my first choice and it is such a relief to get it,” she said. “It will be easy for my voters to relate to me through this symbol. Any other would have been a disaster.”
Securing the right symbol is critical not only because it is an accessible identifier for thousands who can’t read but also because of its evocative powers. “For the 2002 elections I was allotted the briefcase symbol. My opponents started calling me ‘Havala’, said an independent candidate from the suburbs. “Finally, I had to lodge an official complaint.”
In 2005, Mohammad Patel and his wife Saira, a nominee from ward 61, wrote to the Chief Justice of India seeking a change of symbols in the list. “Objectionable symbols like baingan (brinjal), banana, corn, and spoon (people start calling you chamcha) should be expurgated,” they wrote.
The Patels told DNA that some symbols help rivals produce deprecating labels. “If you get a banana, you’re called kelawala, carrot makes you gajarwala, and so on, causing a lot of embarrassment to the candidate,” Saira Patel said.
The State Election Commission offered 71 free symbols to newly formed or registered parties and independent candidates on Saturday. All parties and candidates are given a choice of three symbols. Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena was allotted the railway engine. “Lakhs of people travel by local train and are committed to the system, so we decided to list it as our first preference,” said Praveen Darekar, MNS general secretary. But in some wards, the MNS has had to be content with ‘cup and saucer’ and, in two wards, with ‘slate’.
“Two registered regional parties cannot get the same symbol at one place,” said N Mundale, officer on special duty for the election. “Preference is given to the party that has filed nominations first, or the party is given the symbol if there is no other party in the fray in that ward.”
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