New Delhi, August 26: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday  directed the Janata Dal (United) not to use their reserved symbol "Arrow" for upcoming Assembly Elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra. According to a tweet by ANI, the EC has urged the JD(U) that it cannot use their 'arrow' symbol while contesting elections in both the states, henceforth. JD (U) leader Rajeev Ranjan said the party has decided to go to EC against this order. He said, if need be, the party members will go to High Court as well.

According to reports, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had submitted an application on 24 June, 2019 to EC requesting not to grant concession for allotment of "Arrow". The JMM said that the candidates set up by JD(U) in any election in the state of Jharkhand should not be allowed to use the symbol 'arrow', stating that it will create confusion in minds of electors. By-Elections to 4 Assembly Seats in Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh to be Held on September 23.

Here's the tweet:

The latest development is believed to be a setback for the JD(U) as the party is planning to contest assembly elections in Jharkhand on its own. According to reports, the JD(U) had started preparations on large scale and chief minister Nitish Kumar was scheduled to launch the party’s election campaign in Jharkhand later this month. Assembly Polls Unlikely Till 2021 in Union Territory of J&K, Say ECI Sources

In November 2017, the Election Commission had recognised the faction led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s claim over the arrow symbol, thus ending suspense over who controls the party.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2019 11:13 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).