VIJAYAWADA: Jana Sena Party has moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court with a plea to issue direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to reserve “Glass Tumbler” symbol exclusively for use of the party in Andhra Pradesh.
The JSP pointed out that the ECI is currently allotting “Glass Tumbler” symbol to independent candidates in AP in constituencies where Jana Sena has not put up any candidates.
A single judge bench headed by Justice B. Krishna Mohan heard the petition filed by T. Sivasankara Rao here on Tuesday, challenging the ECI’s notification of keeping the Glass Tumbler in the list of free symbols in segments where the JS is not contesting in the upcoming polls in AP.
Petitioner’s counsel Y.V. Ravi Prasad submitted that the Jana Sena has allied with a national party as well as a regional party to contest the forthcoming polls in Andhra Pradesh. As part of the alliance, Jana Sena is contesting from 21 assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies.
Counsel Ravi Prasad argued that as the ECI has notified Glass Tumbler as a free symbol and is allotting it to independents, it is causing confusion among voters about the candidate they should vote for.
ECI’s counsel Avinash Desai submitted to the court that the ECI has received the representation submitted by the JS. He said the ECI will announce its decision on the issue in 24 hours.
After hearing both the parties, the High Court adjourned the next hearing in the matter to Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a senior official of the state election authority said, “As per norms of ECI, only the registered and recognised political parties will be allotted symbols, while only the registered political parties will be allotted free symbols. With regard to Jana Sena, ECI will take a decision whether or not to confine the Glass Tumbler symbol only to JS.”
