161 Free symbols including, Shoe, Chappals, Chilli to spice up coming panchayat election

From chappals to shoe and from bangles to green chilli, at least 161 symbols finalised by the state election authority for the upcoming panchayat elections will offer a bewildering choice to the electorate who will elect their new sarpanches and panches.
The interesting part of the show during the campaigning will include the ‘mode of expression’ to be chosen by a candidate highlighting his or her symbol, including chappals, shoe, green chilli, bangles, bricks, etc. to woo voters.

It will also be exciting to see as how the candidates, having these symbols would campaign, and how the symbols of shoe or chappals, for instance, would draw a voter to polling booth in the contest.

On October 11, the state election authority notified a list of 161 free symbols for the use in the panchayat elections which are scheduled to be held in nine phases from November 17 to December 11 this year.

Apart from this, some interesting election symbols notified include syringe and rolling pin.

There are a total of 4,490 panchayats (2,369 in Kashmir and 2,121 in Jammu) while there are at least 35,096 panch wards (18,785 in Kashmir and 16,311 in Jammu).

The last panchayat elections were held from April-May 2011 and these were conducted after a gap of almost 33 years. The elected panchayats had completed their five-year term in July 2016 and these polls have been pending for over two years now.

According to the draft roll, the total number of voters would be 58,12,429. The election authority has decided to hold panchayat elections through ballot boxes.

Nine-phase process from Nov 17
The panchayat elections are scheduled to be held in nine phases from November 17 to December 11 this year.
There are a total of 4,490 panchayats (2,369 in Kashmir and 2,121 in Jammu) while there are at least 35,096 panch wards (18,785 in Kashmir and 16,311 in Jammu)