New Delhi, Apr 19 (IANS): Former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha will continue to be the President of the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) and the symbol of "ceiling fan" will be reserved for the party till the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission (EC) ruled on Friday.

Giving an interim order on a dispute between two factions of the party over its leadership and symbol, the EC said, "The recognition of the RLSP with the reserved symbol 'ceiling fan' shall continue till the conclusion of the current general elections."

"Upendra Kushwaha will continue to be recognised as the President of the party for the purposes of the current elections," it said.

RLSP MLA from Bihar Lalan Paswan, who leads one of the two RLSP factions, had petitioned the EC that the party had removed Kushwaha after he left the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and joined the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) last year without the consent of party members.

In the interim order, the EC said the faction led by Paswan will be granted interim recognition as a state party until the dispute was resolved.

The faction has to give a new name for the party "immediately". It has also been asked to indicate a symbol of its choice (giving a choice of at least three symbols) from among the available free symbols.