Decision on Samajwadi Party poll symbol for UP election 2017 will be taken soon, said Nasim Zaidi.
With only a month to go before the assembly elections are held in Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission has said it would take a quick decision on the most contentious question in the state: Who will ride the Samajwadi Party cycle, Akhilesh Yadav or his father Mulayam Singh.
As the tussle for power within the state's ruling party came to a head last week, the factions of the Chief Minister, and the one led by his father Mulayam Singh and uncle Shivpal Yadav, have both approached the Election Commission. Both have staked claim to the cycle, the symbol of the Samajwadi Party that has been known to the voters for decades.
Today, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said, "The Commission, as per the symbol order, while keeping in mind precedents and set principles followed till now, will examine the documents before us and will take an appropriate decision at the right time."
The paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, gives the roadmap in case of dispute and gives the Commission power to proceed "in relation to splinter groups or rival sections of a recognised political party".
Sources have said that one option for the Commission is to freeze the symbol while it takes a decision. Mr Zaidi, though, gave no indication that the Commission is considering such a course.
Hectic efforts are on for a rapprochement between the two factions, with senior leader Azam Khan taking an initiative. It is feared that a split in the party may create confusion among the key Muslim votebank.
Mr Khan, who met Mulayam Singh this morning, said, "There should not be politics of confusion. I will go anywhere if needed. I want to solve the problem".
While Akhilesh Yadav has described his hostile takeover of the president's post at a conclave on Sunday as a "tough decision" sometimes needed to "protect the ones you love", he has also repeatedly said that he has no wish to undermine his father.