Flag sign row: BSP files complaint against actor Vijay’s party
The political scenario in Tamil Nadu has been brought to controversy after Bahujan Samaj Party of the state filed a written complaint against Tamil Actor Vijay’s newly launched political party with the State Chief Electoral officer. It is for adopting the elephant as the symbol on their party’s flag. According to BSP, the most prominent device in the flag of TVK was as good as their long-standing election symbol-an elephant which can cause confusion in the minds of electors.
Longstanding Association of BSP with the Elephant Symbol
The BSP’s elephant is a symbol that had become an indispensable part of their identity. A party that boasts the largest following in the country, an elephant has been a symbol used by people of the Dalit and Bahujan communities for decades. Strong, long-lived, and displaying the promise of the party in flags, in campaign literature, and in just about every political item there is, displays strength, longevity, and essentially, the promise of the party in social justice.
This was also underlined by the BSP representative when filing the complaint, who said that the elephant as a symbol of the party had great historic and sentimental value. “We have been using our election symbol-an elephant-in our flags and as our symbol all over the country. The blue flag and the elephant are BSP’s national identity,” he said. He clarified that it was the identified symbol of voters as a representation of belief and vision of the party, which is BSP.
Complaints Against Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)
“The controversy began when Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, a new political venture of popular Tamil actor Vijay, released its party flag using elephants. ” Within no time, this caught the attention of BSP members, who argue that the use of the elephant in TVK’s flag infringes on their established identity. BSP argued that “the resemblance is bound to deceive the electorate, more so the BLSP cadres who identify with that symbol.”.
The BSP complaint: the use of the one and the same registered mark—it clearly objects to that. The BSP feels the effective steps so far placed are in no such resolution. It is against Vijay and his team-the TVK party-for using the elephant symbol “illegally” and in a manner bereft of “political civility.” In such circumstances, the BSP had contended that not only would voters be misled by such identical symbols being used by two parties, but it definitely robs the party of its distinct identity over the years.
Demand for Electoral Intervention
The BSP has submitted its objection to the violation. They have not just complained against the issue but also demanded the Election Commission to intervene in the same and also requested it to ensure cessation of it. They have thus appealed to the Commission for issuing a directive to TVK for removing the elephant from their flag in order to avoid such disturbance in the vote-saving parties. It is something like this: in order for the process of election to be there in a smooth democratic way, the nature of parties need to be intact without any compromise.
The party’s spokesperson highlighted that this was within the Election Commission’s purview for an urgent concern added, “We request the Election Commission to safeguard the sanctity of the election symbol and also protect voters by preventing the misuse of the elephant symbol by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.”
Vijay’s Political Aspirations and the Rise of TVK
The recent buzz to shake up the political space of Tamil Nadu was the entrance of Saravana Vetri Maran, famous with the popular name of actor Vijay, who had been instrumental in founding the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. For sure, his entrance into politics has blurred into a microscope, with the gazes and judgments of many around Tamil Nadu already whirling with his charismatic acting style of acting and voice. His party, TVK, would consolidate on the various socio-economic issues in the state, which would hence derive support from fans and sections of the youth population.
This time, too, the elephant has ridden into yet another trouble for TVK at this early junure of its political career as its top leaders, including his son Agathiyan Inbadurai, are yet to come out with a proper reply to the complaint. Vijay has not reacted to the complaint at all.
Symbolism and Political Identity
They carry a lot more profundity in Indian politics than mere visuals. They mean what the ideology and identity a party stands for. For the voter, these turn out to be easy indicators more than frequently helping identify the parties because they are in a multilingual country like India.
The BSP-TVK squabble points to how important such symbols are and how necessary it is to regularize, so that their use be regulated. It also shows how difficult it is for any political organization to forge a party identity anew without treading on the turf of established parties.
What Lies Ahead
With the ball now in the Election Commission’s court, the result of this tussle between BSP and TVK could be a template for latter-day political symbol wars. The dispute is going to be very crucial to establish whether actor Vijay and party will be able to keep the validity and direction of their political transit. It does not remain a resolution that affects only the individuals or parties concerned but spills into the broader dynamics of the use of symbols and electoral identity as has been witnessed in Indian politics.
To read more about the related article, click here
