Why debate over party symbols of water lily and sheaf of paddy?
Before the 10th National Parliamentary Election held in 2014, in October 2013, the Bangladesh Nationalist Front–BNF, which was seeking registration with the Election Commission, applied for the symbol of ‘sheaf of wheat’. BNP opposed this, saying that the sheaf of wheat and the sheaf of paddy look similar. Therefore, voters for the sheaf of paddy might mistakenly vote for the sheaf of wheat. The reverse could also happen. In this reality, BNF applied for the ‘paddy plant’ symbol instead of the sheaf of wheat. However, they were not given either ‘sheaf of wheat’ or ‘paddy plant’; instead, they were told to keep their eyes on the television screen! That is, BNF was given the symbol of a television. On 18 November 2013, they were registered with the Election Commission. Their registration number is 42. However, on 16 February 2023, the newly registered Trinamool BNP was given the symbol of golden fibre.