JD-U’s ‘arrow’ symbol allotted to Nitish Kumar faction

New Delhi: The JD(U) faction led by Nitish Kumar on Friday managed to keep the “arrow” symbol of the party with the Election Commission ruling that the group led by the Bihar chief minister has demonstrated overwhelming majority support in the legislature.

“The group led by Nitish Kumar is hereby recognised as the Janata Dal (United)... Consequently, the group led by Nitish Kumar is entitled to use the reserved symbol ‘Arrow’ of the party as a recognised state party in Bihar,” the EC said in its order.

The EC ruling comes as a setback for the party’s faction led by senior leader Sharad Yadav who is fighting the coming Assembly polls in Gujarat in an alliance with the Congress.

Sources said that Mr Yadav-backed candidates, headed by tribal leader Chotubhai Vasava, will now be contesting the December 9 and 14 Assembly polls as independents or under the Congress symbol.

The JD(U), which is a recognised state party in Bihar, had split when Mr Kumar had decided to walk out of the Grand Alliance in Bihar in which the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress were partners.

Mr Kumar has already decided to field around 12 candidates in the tribal belt of Gujarat where the JD(U) has traditionally been strong.

While senior lawyer and Congress leader Kapil Sibal argued for the Sharad Yadav camp, Rakesh Dwivedi  appeared on behalf of the Nitish Kumar group in the hearing before the EC.

The commission said that the test of majority support as upheld by Supreme Court in Sadiq Ali versus EC applies in the case like all prior party symbol controversies.

Mr Yadav has been maintaining that the faction led by him is the real JD(U) though his faction’s working president Chhotubhai Amarsang Vasava moved the poll panel staking claim over the party and its election symbol.

In a press statement, JD(U) national secretary K.C. Tyagi asked all rebel members to come back into the party fold.