The Election Commission has directed that the Janata Dal (United) will not be granted a concession to use its reserved ‘arrow’ synbol for contesting elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

The Commission’s direction is in response to a plea filed by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha this year, which urged it not to grant a concession for the allotment of ‘arrow’ symbol to the JD(U).

“The allotment of the ‘arrow’ symbol to JD(U) candidates in Jharkhand will create confusion among the voters in the State, where majority of them have rural base with low level of literacy. The ‘arrow’ symbol is very similar to to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) reserved symbol,bow and arrow”, it had represented to the Commission.

The Commission had earlier entertained a similar request from the JD(U) this year after taking into account the vote share of the JMM and the Shiv Sena in Bihar. The Commission had then passed an order saying that the JMM and the Shiv Sena will not be granted the concession to use their reserved symbol, ‘bow and arrow’, for contesting the polls in Bihar.

The JMM and the Shiv Sena are recognised regional parties in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, respectively, and both have ‘bow and arrow’ as their reserved symbol.

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