BJP Leader wants no Party Symbols on EVM Machines 

New Delhi: Electoral symbols on EVM machines may be a thing of the past if the Election Commission accepts BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay recommendations. Upadhyay has recently submitted a 21-page petition to CEC Sunil Arora and his deputies Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra urging them to use their plenary powers under Article 324 to replace party symbols on voting machines and ballot papers with candidate details, including their names, photograph, age and educational qualifications, saying it was essential for “free and fair elections”. Making a case for his demand, Upadhyay’s petition says most candidates these days think of ‘self first, the party next, people last’. “One of the main reasons for this attitude of candidates is the contesting of elections on political party symbols and not on their individual competence and dedication to their voters,” argues the BJP leader.

Ironically, this premise mocks at the BJP’s guiding principle of “nation first, the party next, self last”, that its top leadership, including party president Amit Shah, takes pride in. Pressing for junking of electoral symbols on EVM Machines and ballot papers, Upadhyay says these encourage corruption, criminalization, casteism, communalism, and nepotism. He claims that replacing these with candidate details will end “dictatorial practices by political party bosses in ticket distribution”. The contention is a sweeping indictment of political party chiefs, including those of the BJP. (IANS)

Also Read: Questions Over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs): EC Swears By Machines

Also Watch: Severe Food Poising in South Majuli sparks sensation, several admitted at JMCH