SC denies BRS plea to remove car-like symbols in elections

Justices Oka and Mithal Dismiss BRS Party's Plea Against Election Symbols

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition filed by Telangana’s ruling party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) seeking direction to the Election Commission not to issue poll symbols resembling its party symbol “car” for the upcoming assembly election in Telangana.

A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal refused to entertain petitions filed by the BRS party.
BRS’s petition was not to allot election symbols similar to the “car symbol” including road roller and other symbols resembling its party symbol.

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The court remarked that voters are intelligent enough to differentiate between car and road roller.
BRS also submitted that an election symbol like a road roller would create confusion with its party symbol “car” but the argument could not convince the top court and the apex court questioned the BRS party for filing such a plea which could lead to postponing the upcoming election.

Earlier the Delhi High Court has also refused to entertain the petition filed by BRS.

The petitioner submitted that when voters go to EVMs certain symbols like road roller, chapatti maker and camera appear similar to the BRS party symbol car and at times their party members may lose votes.
Earlier, BRS leader, Ravula Sridhar, speaking on BRS’s approach had said that we have made the request because the party has lost votes in certain instances due to car-like symbols in the EVMs.

Explaining his party’s view regarding the whole matter, the BRS leader had said that the people who want to vote BRS party and car symbol but due to their problem in identifying the right symbol might vote for a different symbol that is similar to the car symbol so the exact mandate might not come out.
Elections will be held in Telangana on November 30.

The counting of votes will take place on December 3 for all five states- Mizoram on November 7, Chhattisgarh on November 7 and November 17, Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 25.

Telangana is set to witness a triangular contest between the BJP, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the Congress in the upcoming assembly election.

In the previous Assembly election held in 2018, BRS managed to win 88 seats out of 119 and had a dominant vote share of 47.4 per cent. Congress came at a distant second with 19 seats. Its vote share was 28.7 per cent