After losing national party tag, CPI plans to fight Karnataka polls on its ‘ears of corn and sickle’ symbol

New Delhi: The Communist Party of India, which recently lost its national party status, will contest the Karnataka election on its ‘ears of corn and sickle’ symbol, party MP Binoy Viswam said Friday.

The CPI was recognised as a ‘national party’ in 1989. It is the only political party to contest all general elections on the same electoral symbol and has maintained an uninterrupted presence in the Lok Sabha. It was the first non-Congress party to form government in any state and since then has been part of many governments.

To use its poll symbol in a state where it is not a recognised party, CPI will have to seek the Election Commission’s permission.

”In the Karnataka election, CPI will contest on the symbol ‘ears of corn and sickle’ that used to be the party’s election symbol ever since 1952… The CPI will strive hard to retain it,” Viswam said in a tweet.

While the CPI’s state party status has been withdrawn in West Bengal and Odisha, it continues to enjoy the status in Kerala, Manipur and Tamil Nadu.

The major advantage of a ‘national tag’ is that the party can have a common symbol across the country for its candidates thus making it easier for people to recognise it. The nomination process for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly poll began on April 13 with April 20 being the last date to file the papers.