National party symbol must appear first on EVMs

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Mithun Vyas, a candidate from Prabhag 16 ‘D’, raised an objection over the placement of party symbols on the EVM, questioning why the symbol and candidate of a national party were placed in the fourth position instead of the first. He demanded a written clarification from the election returning officer, Nilesh Apar. Eventually, the rules issued by the State Election Commissioner (SEC) regarding municipal elections were shown to him.

Speaking to the newspaper, ERO Nilesh Apar explained that, as per the rules framed by the SEC for local body elections, the order on the EVM is decided alphabetically by the names of candidates belonging to recognised national and state parties, and not by giving priority to national parties alone. He added that this rule has been implemented by municipal corporations across the state. The same procedure has been followed not only in this ERO office but in all prabhags of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC).

Meanwhile, BJP candidate Mithun Vyas contacted OBC minister Atul Save over the phone to inform him about the incident and requested him to speak with the ERO regarding the matter.

Confusion during symbol allotment as well

On Saturday, at ERO No. 2 in Sillekhana, confusion arose between two independent candidates over the election symbol ‘cup and saucer’. Eventually, the symbol was allotted through a draw of lots. After that, the symbol allotment process proceeded smoothly.

The process of allotting election symbols began at 11 am on Saturday. Candidates from political parties received their respective symbols without any issues. However, in Prabhag 16 ‘C’, Bharti Dawange, and in Prabhag 16 ‘D’, Santosh Pathrikar, both independent candidates, staked claim to the ‘cup and saucer’ symbol. Finally, ERO resolved the matter by conducting a draw of lots through the hand of a small child. The slip bearing the name of Santosh Pathrikar was drawn, and the symbol was allotted to him. Apart from this incident, the symbol distribution process was conducted smoothly.