Election Commission accedes to TRS’ request, removes truck and iron box symbols
HYDERABAD: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has removed “truck” and “iron box” from the list of free symbols in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Election Commission took the decision following a complaint by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) that the truck, iron and other symbols which look like TRS’ “car” symbol on electronic voting machines are confusing the voters.
TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and MP B Vinod Kumar lodged a complaint with the EC after the recent Assembly polls. The TRS lost several votes to the truck symbol in several Assembly segments. Due to this, the TRS candidate lost in one Assembly segment and the victory margins of TRS reduced considerably in around 12 Assembly segments, they said.
Responding to the complaint, the EC in a letter to Chandrasekhar Rao stated that: “The symbols of truck and iron box, which have slight resemblance with reserved symbol of your party have been removed from the list of free symbols in the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in order to avoid possibility of confusion among electors”.
However, EC did not take any action on other symbols, which were objected by the TRS. “As regards to tractor chalatha kisan, camera — it is informed that there is no resemblance with the reserved symbol of your party,” the EC said in the letter.
New design approved
The EC also informed the TRS chief that “request for revising the design of your reserved symbol of a car has also been approved by the Commission and the revised design will be used in all future elections”. With this, the revised and more visible car symbol would be made available for electors in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
Speaking to reporters at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, MP B Vinod Kumar said the EC assured that the revised car symbol would be used on the EVMs in future elections. He said that the design of the car was not visible properly on the EVMs in the Assembly elections. That was the reason, the voters mistook truck, iron box and other symbols for a car.
Karimnagar meet
Meanwhile, Health Minister Eatela Rajender told reporters that they would organize a meeting on March 1 at SRR College ground in Karimnagar with 20,000 TRS workers. Workers from Vemulawada, Sircilla, Choppadandi, Karimnagar, Mankondur, Husnabad and Huzurabad Assembly segments of Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat would attend the meeting.