Tech that! Election symbols enter digital age

KOLKATA: When elections are fought on social media and citizens are caught up in a virtual international, can election symbols languish within the realm of bullock carts and brooms?

Tech is the overriding theme of free symbols launched through the Election Commission, reflecting India’s swift transformation from a standard nation to an city country. From CCTV digicam to laptop mouse, pen force to computer and cell charger to bread toaster, accessories that have turn out to be a part of our day-to-day lives are some of the crop of symbols assigned to independent applicants and unrecognised events, marking moderately an evolution from free symbols of yesteryears — bullock cart, awl, basket, candle and carrot. The lantern and broom, once free symbols, have now turn out to be reserved symbols of Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janta Dal and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party.


“This points to the transformation of the rustic from Bharat to India. It all began with a bullock cart and similar symbols several many years ago. Today we have now robots and laptops to make a choice from,” says political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty, who also teaches political science at Rabindra Bharati University.

In the first Lok Sabha elections, 90% of the citizens were from rural India. According to the 2011 census information, 37% of India now lives in cities and towns. West Bengal has 33% of its people dwelling in cities. In Gujarat and Maharashtra, the figure is nearly 50%. For this burgeoning city populace, laptops and mobile phones are empowering social symbols.

Analysts like Chakraborty really feel the new-age symbols will lend a hand politicians attract younger citizens who form a bulk of India’s citizens and will play an influential function in swinging opinion. Out of the 90 crore citizens this time, 37 crores belong to the 18-35 age team, of which 1.five crore are first-time citizens. Bengal has enrolled 20.6 lakh new citizens this time, the highest within the nation.

Ujjan Ghosh, 20, is pursuing a direction in synthetic intelligence from a personal engineering school. For him, an election symbol is his first advent to a birthday celebration. “I do know what I can expect from the candidate or the outfit after I see the emblem,” he says.

Ajay Dahal, a farmer in Kalimpong, is contesting as an independent candidate from Darjeeling. He says his symbol of computer is making it easier for him to keep in touch his agenda with the citizens. “The formative years of Darjeeling need jobs and technology is the longer term. In the approaching years, most jobs might be within the technology sector or in similar fields. I wish to put across to the formative years of Darjeeling via my symbol that my vision for them is clear and they're going to not be losing their vote through electing me,” says Dahal.

Elections symbols were presented so that unlettered citizens may establish their applicants. As consistent with the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, the EC allots symbols to any individual contesting the polls. “An independent candidate or someone contesting on behalf of an unrecognised political birthday celebration has to way the Commission and get a logo allotted from the record of 'free' symbols to be had,” mentioned an EC reliable in Kolkata North.


According to conversation experts, an election symbol acquires great model price. “Leaders like Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee and Tejaswi Yadav put on their symbols like a badge. The slogans are coined around those trademarks. In the age of social media workers click on selfies with symbols and put up them to attract eyeballs,” points out Angshuman Ghosh, a model and conversation specialist.


This is why events lay our a fortune to propagate their symbol and jealously guard it. When a birthday celebration splits, the emblem becomes the bone of rivalry. In the previous, Janata Party and Janata (S) have fought over ‘haldhar’ (ploughman), which belonged to Charan Singh’s Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) prior to he gave it to Janata Party. The cow-and-calf symbol used to be at the centre of a tussle between Congress and Congress (I) prior to Indira Gandhi adopted the open palm symbol. A couple of years ago, two factions of Samajwadi Party had approached the EC to stake declare at the birthday celebration symbol ‘cycle’.


New events unharness an enormous brand-building exercise across the symbols allotted to them. When AAP used to be allotted the broom, the birthday celebration used it as a metaphor to sweep away corruption. When the Narendra Modi govt presented the broom in its Swachh Bharat campaign, many perceived it as an attempt to suitable the picture that symbolised corruption-free India.


Tech that! Election symbols enter digital age Tech that! Election symbols enter digital age Reviewed by Kailash on April 14, 2019 Rating: 5
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