Plough (politics)

Electoral symbol

The Plough (Bengali: লাঙ্গল) is the political symbol of the Jatiya Party (JP) in Bangladesh[1] and Jammu & Kashmir National Conference in India.[2]

## Bangladesh

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### Origin

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The electoral symbol traces its origin to Krishak Praja Party in British India. After the independence of Pakistan, East Bengal-based United Front wanted to have the plough for the 1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election, but as the symbol was used in British India by the Krishak Praja Party, the government didn’t grant them the symbol.[1] Later, Pakistani party Jatiya League, established in 1968, chose the plough as its electoral symbol and participated in 1970 Pakistani general election.[3]

### After independence

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After the independence of Bangladesh, the party also participated in 1973 Bangladeshi general election with the plough. Ataur Rahman Khan, the leader of the party, joined JP in 1984 and then the symbol was chosen and used by JP founder Hussain Muhammad Ershad. During the by-election for Tangail-8 in 1999, Ershad's JP and its breakaway group Manju's JP got into a dispute about the rights of the electoral symbol. However, Bangladesh Election Commission declined both party's application for the usage of the plough. Ershad's JP sought High Court's decision regarding the dispute and the court ruled in favour of Ershad. Later Manju's party applied writ petition to the Supreme Court but they also ruled in favour of Ershad too.[3] In 2023, JP demanded to the Election Commission to cancel allotment of the anchor symbol for the Bangladesh Nationalist Movement. As a reason for the demand, the party showed that the anchor is very similar to the plough and voters would be confused during general elections if not removed.[4] In the same year, the party announced to participate in 2024 Bangladeshi general election with their own electoral symbol instead of any alliance.[5] In 2024, Ershad's JP was broken into two factions and both of them demanded the plough as their electoral symbol. But according to the Election Commission, if any faction wants to get the symbol then the factions' leader have to be JP's chairman maintaining the party constitution. The Quader faction claimed that the symbol was allotted to them by the Election Commission. On the other hand, the Rowshan faction claimed that according to the courts' rule the symbol is theirs.[6]

## In India

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The symbol used in India

It is also used by Jammu & Kashmir National Conference in India. Before 2023 LAHDC Kargil election, the Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council requested to ban the symbols' usage in the election. In 6 September 2023, the court declined the request and granted the symbol to the party.[2]

## References

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1. ^ a b Khan, Kamal Joha (6 December 2018). "যেভাবে এল নৌকা, ধানের শীষ, লাঙ্গল". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
2. ^ a b Tyagi, Akshara (6 September 2023). "Supreme Court Grants Plough Symbol to JKNC for Elections, Omar Abdullah Applauds Verdict". newsx. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
3. ^ a b "জাতীয় পার্টি: এরশাদ যেভাবে দলীয় প্রতীক লাঙ্গল পেলেন কৃষক প্রজা পার্টি থেকে". Voice of America (in Bengali). 6 January 2024. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
4. ^ "নোঙর প্রতীক দেখতে লাঙ্গলের মত! আপত্তি জাতীয় পার্টির". Bdnews24.com (in Bengali). 13 August 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
5. ^ "Jatiya Party will contest in national polls with party symbol, not under alliance: Chunnu". The Business Standard. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
6. ^ "'লাঙ্গলে'র দখল ছাড়তে রাজি নয় জাতীয় পার্টির কোনও পক্ষই". BBC (in Bengali). 10 March 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.