Aamir Mughal brandishes an eggplant before a gaggle of voters, rallying support behind the Pakistani staple during an election campaign he says is being undermined by bizarre symbols assigned to candidates, AFP reports.

After the PTI was stripped of its electoral symbol of ‘bat’, its candidates are contesting the February 8 polls as independents with different symbols, scrabbling to make an impression on the campaign trail.

“The eggplant is now a famous symbol across all Pakistan,” declares the candidate for Islamabad, a follower of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan. “Now this has become the king of the vegetables.”

A spokesman for the Election Commission of Pakistan said the symbols are chosen from a list designed for independents and “are purely the prerogative of the returning officers”.