ECI allots 'School Bag' symbol to Jan Suraaj Party; VIP gets 'Boat'

Patna, June 25 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has allotted poll symbols to several political parties ahead of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, including the Jan Suraaj Party and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).

In a significant development, the Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor, has been allotted the ‘School Bag’ symbol.

With this, all 243 candidates of Jan Suraj will contest the upcoming elections on this symbol.

The party has welcomed the Election Commission’s decision, stating that the ‘School Bag’ perfectly reflects its top priority -- reforming Bihar’s education system.

“Education is the first among our five core resolutions for Bihar’s development. The ‘School Bag’ symbol represents our commitment to ensuring quality education for every child in the state,” said a party spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), which had to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on the ‘Ladies Purse’ symbol, has now successfully reclaimed its traditional ‘Boat’ symbol.

Confirming the development, VIP national spokesperson Dev Jyoti said: “The Election Commission has notified the return of the ‘Boat’ symbol to VIP. This is a victory for democratic values and the Constitution of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The ‘Boat’ symbol is emotionally and historically connected to our party and its supporters.”

Since its inception, VIP has contested elections using the boat symbol, including the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, where it secured four seats.

Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) led by Upendra Kushwaha has been allotted an LPG cylinder by the Election Commission of India.

Apart from Jan Suraj, VIP and RLM, the Election Commission has allotted symbols to other parties including Bharatiya Sarthak Party – Scissors, Lohia Janata Dal – Bucket, Jan Salamati Party – Ladies Purse, Bharatiya Janata Samaj Sevak Party – Flute and Rashtriya Samajwadi Log Adhikar Party – Ring.

With the allocation of election symbols, the political atmosphere in Bihar is heating up as parties prepare their candidates and campaign strategies for the high-stakes assembly elections.

--IANS

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