After veering round to the view that its existing "arrow" election symbol is "confusing" voters, the party has planned to meet the Election Commission any day after Makar Sankranti and submit a list of its symbol choices to replace the existing one.
Makar Sankranti is on coming Thursday and, hence a forward movement on the issue is expected next week.
The party's bid to seek a new symbol comes ahead of assembly election scheduled in five states -- Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Kerala, where it is planning to contest as part of some 'grand morcha' on the lines of that formed in Bihar to defeat NDA, sources in JD-U said.
Banyan tree was the symbol of Samyukta Socialist Party, while Praja Socialist Party's symbol was hut. Farmer with plough was the symbol of Lok Dal. All of them were part of larger Janata Parivar family at some point or the other.
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After initially showing keenness to get the 'wheel' symbol of erstwhile Janata Dal, JD-U has given up the hope on it as it is not sure of the support of Janata Dal (Secular).
A JD-U delegation had met the Election Commission immediately after the Bihar polls to discuss the issue of symbol. Responding to their demand for the wheel symbol, the EC is learnt to have told them that the wheel symbol can be given to them if JD (S) does not object to it.
The party's hunt for the new symbol emanates from a feeling that something much more identifiable with the people should be its election symbol.
Moreover, JD-U's symbol arrow is also identical with the bow and arrow symbol of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Shiv Sena.
There is a feeling in the party that JD-U lost a good number of votes in a number of seats in Bihar even in this assembly election due to its symbol being confused with that of Shiv Sena and JMM.
At the meeting, the party had unanimously resolved to
"approach the Election Commission effectively for allotment of a new symbol to JD(U)" and authorised party President Sharad Yadav to pursue the matter with the poll panel.
A party functionary, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that in the recently concluded Bihar polls, it had been observed and there is also a feedback from voters that they had to face confusion in selecting the symbol arrow of JD(U).
"Therefore, it is essential that some other symbol is allotted to our party in order to protect the right of citizens to exercise their franchise for the candidates of their choice," the party functionary.
He said that the matter was discussed in detail in the party's national executive here, which was also attended by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The wheel symbol of Janata Dal was frozen in 1999 as the party was split into JD(U) led by Sharad Yadav and JD-S under H D Deve Gowda when the former decided to join the then NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The two parties were then allotted separate symbols -- 'farmer driving a tractor' to JD(S) and 'arrow' to Sharad Yadav's party.
Later, JD(S) changed its symbol to a 'woman farm labourer carrying a stack of paddy on her head'.
In the 1962 general election, Praja Socialist Party had the 'hut' election symbol. In 1964, Praja Socialist Party, also known Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, and Socialist Party combined to form Samyukta Socialist Party. Socialist Party's symbol was banyan tree then.
The Election Commission then allotted the 'hut' symbol to the new party. However, the two parties fell apart by 1965. The hut symbol was back to Praja Socialist Party while Socialist Party retained the name of Samyukta Socialist Party.
Later, when the representatives of the four non-Communist opposition parties formed a new party -- Janata Party, they decided to contest on a common symbol of 'farmer with plough' of Bhartiya Lok Dal.
It was on this symbol that Janata Party had scored its spectacular victory against Congress in 1977 ushering in the first non-Congress government to power after Independence.