Odisha Jan Morcha (OJM) chief Pyarimohan Mohapatra on Saturday wrote a letter to the State Election Commissioner (SEC) Ajit Kumar Tripathy for issuing a statement in the media that the OJM would not be eligible to use the allotted symbol ‘Kite’ in the current elections to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Mohapatra said in his letter that his party had applied to the Election Commission of India (ECI) exactly six months before the expiry of the term of the Odisha Assembly and has been granted the symbol ‘Kite’ by the ECI, the competent authority in the matter.
The OJM chief said as per the Odisha Municipal Corporation (Division of City into Wards, Reservation of Seats and Conduct of Election) Rules, 2003, candidates of registered parties should present the symbol allotted by the ECI before the Election Officer along with the nomination papers. The party has followed all the rules and orders of the Commission, he maintained.
“As a Constitutional functionary, we do not expect such statement from your good self to the media before examining the issue and giving us adequate opportunity to state our grounds,” Mohapatra said, adding, “This avoidable action creates an impression that the office of the State Election Commissioner is being misused due to extraneous factors.”
The party requested the SEC to settle the matter very soon so that the candidates of the party can go ahead with the BMC poll preparation.