After 'cane farmer' jolt, NTK wants symbol-free polls

AT a time when many political parties in Tamil Nadu are facing problems in getting their symbols for the Lok Sabha elections, the manifesto of the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) released by the party's chief coordinator Seeman on Wednesday proposed symbol-free elections in India, saying this alone can ensure a level-playing field for political parties in the country.

- T MURUGANANDHAM

The NTK which faced a setback over the election symbol this time, said in its manifesto, "Under the current system of election, some parties are contesting elections on a particular symbol for a long time and others are contesting with a new symbol. This is against democracy. To set this right, all political parties should be allotted new symbols for every election. If it is not possible, all parties and candidates should be allotted numerals as in the United States to ensure a level-playing field, and the elections should be conducted without any symbols."