MUMBAI, Nov. 25 -- The Bombay High Court has rejected a petition by the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) seeking to retain its "gas cylinder" symbol for the upcoming local body elections in the state. The VBA had written to the State Election Commission (SEC) on May 26, asking that the symbol be reserved for the party. However, on October 16, the SEC replied that the Returning Officer (RO) would decide symbol allotment during the actual election process. Calling this response "arbitrary and evasive", the VBA approached the high court on November 13 through senior advocate Prakash Ambedkar assisted by advocates Sandesh more and Hitendra Gandhi. After failing to secure the symbol as a representation of the party, the VBA argued that it had contested major elections since 2019 and built substantial public support in both Lok Sabha and state assembly polls. The VBA's petition read, "The symbol was already allotted to it (VBA) by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in 2019 and in 2024. Over the years, the symbol has become exclusively identified with VBA among the electorate of Maharashtra. It constitutes the VBA's political identity among voters." The petitioner warned that placing the "Gas Cylinder" symbol on the free-symbol list-allowing ROs to allot it to any candidate-could confuse voters and weaken VBA's identity. It also claimed that the SEC's refusal violated its right to symbol continuity under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968....