New Delhi: The Election CommissionIn a move aimed at strengthening the de facto registered unrecognized political parties (RUPPs), the election symbol order was amended on Saturday to allow all candidates fielded by RUPPs to use a common symbol if the party has polled at least 1% of the total valid votes in one of the last two elections held in a state. Earlier, the provision allowed this concession for the third time only if the RUPP had contested the last two elections in that state on a common symbol, and had received at least 1% of the valid votes in the previous election. As per para 10 (b) of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, a common symbol can be used by all candidates of the RUPP who have previously exercised this concession in any two Lok Sabha elections, any two Assembly elections or one Lok Sabha election and one Assembly election in that State, as the party may choose.Election Commission sources said the amendment has been made to facilitate RUPP, which had performed well in the earlier elections when the common symbol concession was used, but failed to secure the minimum 1% of valid votes in the subsequent election in the state. An Election Commission official said, “It was felt that he should be given a third chance even if he could meet the 1% voteshare criteria in one of the last two elections.”“The idea is to facilitate genuine RUPPs to participate in the democratic and electoral process. This is in contrast to the stringent action initiated last year against dormant and inactive RUPPs, under which a total of 808 RUPPs were delisted. The delisting was done on the grounds of failure by RUPPs to respect the statutory conditions of their registration, not contesting elections for the last six years and/or not filing annual financial statements such as contribution reports, annual audit reports and expenditure statements Was with the Election Commission. The RUPP is entitled to benefits such as income tax exemption concessions, a common election symbol and preference over independent candidates in the ballot paper, etc.