Hyderabad, March 27 (IANS) The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) of actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi and the Lok Satta party of former bureaucrat Jaiprakash Narayan got a major relief Friday following the Supreme Court fiat to the Election Commission to allot them common election symbols.
Chiranjeevi thanked the apex court for its order, directing the poll panel to allot “rail engine” as the symbol for PRP.

“We had full faith in judiciary and were sure of getting justice,” Chiranjeevi told reporters while campaigning in West Goadavari district in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The Supreme Court Friday directed the Election Commission to accommodate the demand of three registered but unrecognised political parties, including Tamil star Vijaykanth’s DMDK, for common symbol in their states.

Chiranjeevi’s party had approached the court after the Election Commission rejected its demand to allot “rail engine” as the common symbol on the ground that only recognised national and state-level parties were entitled to have a fixed and common symbol.

The court order has come as a major relief to PRP, which was worried about its performance in the absence of a common symbol.

Lok Satta president Jaiprakash Narayan hailed the Supreme Court order. “The (whistle) symbol signifies the awakening we are trying to create among people,” he said.