Can a Political Party use Cockroach as Election Symbol?

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Relevance: GS Paper II (Polity, Elections, Pressure Groups) & GS Paper IV (Ethics in Governance)

Source: News Reports, 2026

1 · Context

During a Supreme Court hearing on fake degrees and pointless court cases, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Surya Kant, used a sharp comparison — saying some people who misuse the system behave like “cockroaches” or “parasites”.
Instead of staying angry, some youth turned the insult into a badge. On 16 May 2026, a group called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was started by strategist Abhijeet Dipke. It began as an internet joke but quickly grew into a real movement about jobs, exam paper leaks, and accountability.

2 · Two Things to Understand Here

First, what is the CJP right now? It is not a registered political party yet. It is a “pressure group” — a group of citizens (here, mostly Gen-Z youth) who come together to push the government on issues they care about, like unemployment and clean exams (NEET, CUET paper leaks). They use memes and online campaigns instead of joining old-style parties. This is allowed under the Right to Form Associations — Article 19(1)(c).

Second, the big question: can the Election Commission give them a “cockroach” symbol? Almost certainly no — and the reason goes back to a sad story from 1989, explained below.

Why animals and birds are banned as election symbols — the story

1	1989 — the cruelty. In the Tamil Nadu election, the AIADMK group led by J. Jayalalithaa got the “rooster” symbol. During campaigning, live roosters were tied to fast-moving vehicles and many birds died.

2	Activists stepped in. Led by Maneka Gandhi (founder of People for Animals), animal-welfare activists asked the Election Commission to stop this.

3	1990s — the ban. The Election Commission stopped giving living animals, birds, or creatures as symbols, to prevent cruelty.

4	The exception. Parties that already had animal symbols before the ban were allowed to keep them. That is why the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) still uses the “elephant”.

How does the Election Commission give out symbols?

The rulebook: Everything is decided under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Reserved symbols: Big recognised parties get a permanent symbol kept only for them — like the lotus (BJP) and the hand (Congress).
Free symbols: New or small parties and independent candidates must pick from a public list of “free symbols”. The list of May 2025 had 184 free symbols, mostly everyday objects — air-conditioner, balloon, dustbin, jackfruit, toothbrush, TV remote.
State-wise rule: A free symbol may be blocked in some states if it clashes with a local recognised party. For example, the “apple” is free generally but not allowed in states like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
To become a real party: A group like the CJP must register under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

UPSC Value Box

Pressure Group	Citizens organising to push the government on issues, without becoming a political party. The CJP is one such Gen-Z group.
Symbols Order, 1968	Full name: Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The law under which the EC gives symbols.
Reserved vs Free Symbols	Reserved = kept only for recognised parties (lotus, hand). Free = open list for small parties & independents (184 in May 2025).
Animal Symbol Ban	EC stopped giving living animals/birds as symbols in the 1990s after the 1989 rooster cruelty. BSP’s “elephant” is a pre-ban exception.
RPA 1951	The Representation of the People Act, 1951 is a comprehensive Indian law passed by Parliament that governs the conduct of elections to both Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures.
Article 324	Gives the Election Commission wide (“plenary”) powers to conduct free and fair elections — including the symbol ban.
Article 19(1)(c)	Fundamental right to form associations or unions — the basis for groups like the CJP.
Article 51A(g)	Fundamental Duty to show compassion to living creatures — the ethical idea behind the animal-symbol ban.

MCQ Practice Question

Q. With reference to the allotment of election symbols in India, consider the following statements:

Election symbols are allotted under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
The Election Commission stopped allotting living animals and birds as symbols mainly to reduce printing costs on ballot papers.
A party that held an animal symbol before the ban was permitted to retain it, as in the case of the Bahujan Samaj Party’s elephant.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 1 and 3 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Statement 1 — Correct: Symbols are indeed governed by the 1968 Order.
Statement 2 — Incorrect (the trap): The ban was to prevent cruelty to animals (after the 1989 rooster deaths), not to save printing costs. A believable but wrong reason has been slipped in.
Statement 3 — Correct: Parties with pre-ban animal symbols kept them; the BSP’s elephant is the classic example.

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