Bangladesh Congress has officially applied to the Election Commission (EC) to allocate “Shapla” symbol instead of “Coconut”. On Monday, Bangladesh Congress General Secretary Advocate Md Iarul Islam submitted the application.
“We were the first to claim ‘shapla’ symbol. If the EC decides to allocate it to any party, Bangladesh Congress should get priority,” Secretary-General of Bangladesh Congress Earul Islam told reporters after filing the application.
In its application, the party stated that since its founding in 2013, Bangladesh Congress has used Shapla as its political identity, featuring it on its first campaign materials, banners, posters, and official logos.
However, in 2017, during the registration process, the EC rejected their request to use “shapla”, citing its status as a national symbol. The party then proposed “book” as their symbol instead.
Following a directive from the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the party was registered but ultimately had to settle for “coconut” as “book” was not included in the gazette list.
The party now hopes the EC will reconsider and grant them symbol, which it argues has been an integral part of its identity since inception.
For the past several weeks, the National Citizen Party (NCP) has been demanding the “shapla” as their symbol, which the EC has repeatedly denied.
