The Bombay High Court was informed on Monday by the Election Commission of India (ECI) that the ‘whistle’ symbol, previously allotted to Janata Dal (United), will now be assigned to the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections. This decision follows the proper electoral guidelines and procedures.
The matter was brought before a division bench consisting of Justices Somasekhar Sundaresan and Arif Doctor, who were hearing a petition from the BVA, led by Hitendra Thakur. The party sought the allocation of the ‘whistle’ symbol, under which a BVA candidate had previously contested from the Palghar Lok Sabha seat during the 2024 general elections. At that time, Janata Dal (United) did not field a candidate in that constituency.
During the court session, the ECI presented a communication from Janata Dal (United), which indicated that the party would not be contesting the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls and was therefore surrendering the ‘whistle’ symbol that was assigned to them by an order dated January 30, 2024.
The Election Commission reassured the court that the ‘whistle’ symbol would be allotted to the BVA, stating that the allocation would adhere strictly to the established rules and guidelines required for symbol assignment.
