EC reserves decision on 'cycle', to announce on Monday

The Election Commission on Friday reserved its verdict on allocation of the Samajwadi Party's election symbol 'cycle' to one of the warring factions and is expected to announce its decision on Monday.

"The Commission reserved its order today (Friday). It will decide on the party's election symbol on Monday," Gauri Naulankar, lawyer of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, told IANS after a hearing at the Election Commission.

The Commission declined to make any comments now, she said.

Giving a brief account of the hearing on FRiday, Gauri said: "Mulayamji said that he is the legal President of the party since the beginning. So, no one can remove him from the position by holding illegal or invalid conferences."

The lawyer said that Mulayam Singh told the commission that he is the incumbent President of the party as per its constitution.

Gauri also said that Kapil Sibal, who represented Mulayam's son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav at the hearing, told Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi that it is Akhilesh's party.

After the hearing at the Commission, Sibal too told reporters that the EC has heard both factions and has reserved its verdict as to whom to allot the party election symbol 'cycle'.

The hearing on Friday lasted for over four hours.

--IANS

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