Jan. 16: By saddling up the bicycle, Akhilesh Yadav has won a race that Indira Gandhi could not decades ago.

The cycle would catch up with Indira years later while she was fighting her second battle for political survival but - after almost losing out in long-distance translation - the now-familiar " haath" stopped the two-wheeler in its tracks.

In handing the cycle symbol to Akhilesh, the Election Commission has relied upon its 1971 order after the Congress had split in 1969, making numerical strength of the elected representatives the decider. Essentially, what it means is that the parliamentary wing, not the organisational machinery, is the party.

Among the figures cited by the commission in its order today, most were about the clear majority of the Akhilesh group among the party's elected representatives in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Assembly and the Legislative Council.

In 1971 when the commission used this yardstick, the "official" Congress (Organisation) won and Indira had lost the symbol -"pair of bullocks carrying a yoke" - that had struck a chord with the farmers of post-Independent India.

Many stalwarts in the Congress(O), such as Morarji Desai, S.K. Patil and C.B. Gupta, successfully contended that they led the Congress to victory in four previous Lok Sabha polls.

In the order in January 1971, the commission had observed that a test based on the provisions of the constitution of the party was hardly of any assistance in view of the removals from membership and expulsions from the committees of members belonging to one group by those belonging to the other group.

The Supreme Court later upheld the test of majority applied by the commission. "All that this court is concerned with is whether the test of majority or numerical strength, which has been taken into account by the commission, is in the circumstances of the case a relevant and germane test. On that point, we have no hesitation in holding that in the context of the facts and circumstances of the case, the test of majority... was not only germane and relevant but a very valuable test."

Although Indira was said to have been disappointed by the loss of the "pair of bullocks", she picked the cow-and-calf symbol, establishing herself as a powerful brand on account of the liberation of Bangladesh and the " Garibi Hatao" slogan -- the same cry that Narendra Modi is seeking to echo now.

After the Emergency-era debacle, Indira again had to opt for a new symbol as the party split in 1978. This time, however, Indira was eager to let go of the cow and the calf, which had become symbols of ridicule in many parts of the country. The cow was seen as Indira and the calf as Sanjay.

Indira decided to discard the symbol and asked for bullocks but by that time, the Election Commission had frozen the symbol. Apart from losing the support of 76 of the 153 members of the Lok Sabha, her new party was homeless, too.

Buta Singh, who had a room at 24 Akbar Road as AICC general secretary, petitioned the Election Commission. Indira was out in Vijayawada with P.V. Narasimha Rao when Buta was asked by the Election Commission to pick an election symbol.

The choices were an elephant, a bicycle and an open palm.

Unsure, Buta he booked a trunk call to seek Indira's approval. The line was probably not clear or, perhaps, Buta's pronunciation was so thick that Indira kept hearing haathi (elephant) twice instead of haath (hand) when it came to the third option.

She kept saying "no" even as Buta tried to explain that it was not the elephant but the open palm symbol that he was advising her to pick. An exasperated Indira handed the telephone to Rao. In a matter of seconds, Rao, master of more than a dozen languages, understood what Buta was trying to convey.

Rao shouted: "Buta Singhji, panja kahiye, panja."

Relieved, Indira took the receiver and said: ' Haan, haan, panja theek rahega (Yes, yes, the open palm will be all right)."

Although discarded then, the cycle and the elephant are alive and kicking after all these years - in Uttar Pradesh, as the symbols of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's BSP, respectively.

The hand did not have an easy ride. Initially, some Congress leaders felt that it would remind voters of traffic policemen. But deep within her, Indira and her key associates were pleased because the barbs ensured that the cow and the calf - and their uncharitable association with the Emergency nexus -- were soon forgotten.

Since the Samajwadi Party has not split yet, there is no legal battle over the assets as of now.

In Indira's case, she was left with nothing when the Congress split. She lost control over 7 Jantar Mantar Road, which had housed the party office near the medieval observatory since Independence. Jawaharlal Nehru used to spend hours there, screening membership forms and writing letters to state and district party chiefs. Indira was appointed Congress president in 1959 in that building.

From 5 Rajendra Prasad Road in 1971, the Indira group reached 24 Akbar Road in 1978 -- without files, old correspondence, stationery and typewriters. The then office secretary, Saddiq Ali, had declined to hand over any official record.

When she returned to power in 1980 with a thumping majority and a ring of legitimacy, Indira, a believer in destiny, refused to stake claim to 7 Jantar Mantar. "I have built the party from scratch, not once but twice. The new office premises will rejuvenate the party rank and file for decades," she had told Sanjay when her son had broached the subject of returning to 7 Jantar Mantar.

Indira's words proved prophetic. 24 Akbar Road did provide a new lease of life to the Indian National Congress.