Religious beliefs and cultural values have largely directed how India's political parties choose their emblems. DW traces the origins of the most popular symbols.

The Bharatiya Jana Sangh under the guidance of RSS started ... Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first president of the BJP. The election symbol of the BJP from beginning and as approved by the ...

From Bharatiya Jana Sangh till now ... our workers used to paint ‘diya’ (symbol of Jana Sangh) on walls with enthusiasm… and ...