Who Keeps the Party Symbol When an Indian Party Splits?

The Election Commission, not the courts, decides which faction keeps a party's name and symbol when it splits.

The deciding factor today is mostly raw numbers — how many MPs, MLAs and office-bearers each side can show.

While the dispute is heard, the original symbol is usually frozen and both groups fight elections under new names.

Eknath Shinde's faction won Shiv Sena's bow-and-arrow; Ajit Pawar's group got the NCP clock.

A symbol is electoral gold: it tells crores of voters, including non-readers, who the 'real' party is.