Dhaka, Oct. 4 -- The National Citizen Party (NCP) has again demanded the "Shapla" as its electoral symbol, rejecting the Election Commission's (EC) stance that the flower cannot be allocated due to its place in the national emblem.

In a statement on Friday, NCP Convenor Nahid Islam explained why the party is set on having the Shapla as its symbol.

He said the party had applied for registration on Jun 22, requesting the symbol. He claimed that an EC committee member preparing a list of 150 symbols had assured NCP representatives during a Jun 4 meeting that the water lily would be included.

However, on Jul 9 media reports said the EC had taken a policy decision against listing the symbol, citing its status as part of the national emblem....