Election Commission Freezes LJP Symbol Amid Tussle Between Chirag Paswan & Pashupati Factions

LJP President Chirag Paswan had visited the election commission to demand that the symbol remains with his faction.

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to freeze the Lok Janshakti Party's symbol amid a tussle between factions of Chirag Pawan and Pashupati Kumar Paras.

The ECI has said that "neither of the two groups of Paswan or Chirag will be permitted to use the symbol of LJP", news agency ANI reported.

The Election body has asked both groups to chose, as an interim measure, the names of their groups and the "symbols which may be allotted to the candidates set up, if any, by the respective groups".

The Election Commission has said that it will decide the symbol by Monday, News18 reported earlier. 

According to the report, the ECI said that the decision will be taken by October 4, it will be between Saturday and Monday the report quoted its sources as saying.

Chirag Paswan visited the election commission to demand that the symbol remains with his faction, News18 reported. 

The Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party has claimed the right to use the party’s name and symbol for the upcoming bypoll on two Assembly seats in Bihar The Hindu reported. The party has written to the Election Commission to reject the claim of his estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras to be party president.

LJP has been divided into two factions, one which is lead by Chirag Paswan the other by his uncle and Union Cabinet Minister Pashupati Paras. This division happened in June this year when five MPs switched from Paswan’s to Paras’. Later, Paras declared himself as the party president in Patna.