Lucknow, Jun 16 (IANS): Om Prakash Rajbhar, Uttar Pradesh Minister and President of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) has now realised that his party lost the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections because of its poll symbol -- a walking stick.

Rajbhar said, "Our election symbol was a walking stick at the third number on the EVM. The Mool Niwasi Samaj Party had the hockey stick as its poll symbol and was placed in the sixth position on the EVM. Our voters got confused between the walking stick and the hockey stick since they both look strikingly similar. This explains how the Mool Niwasi Samaj Party candidate, Lilawati Rajbhar, got more than 47,000 votes."

Rajbhar's son Arvind Rajbhar, who contested the seat as an NDA candidate, lost the polls.

Om Prakash Rajbhar said, "My party will now approach the Election Commission and urge them not to allot such similar-looking symbols to candidates since they create confusion in the minds of voters. I am talking to my party workers to know if they want a change in our symbol."

Uttar Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Anil Rajbhar, meanwhile, said that whatever votes Arvind Rajbhar had got in Ghosi were from the BJP.

"The SBSP did not get Rajbhar votes -- neither in Ghosi nor in other constituencies. Om Prakash Rajbhar's statement reflects his pessimism," he added.