Cuttack, Feb 10 (PTI) Its good news for candidates contesting for the posts of ward members, sarpanchs and panchayat samiti members in the ongoing panchayat polls in Odisha. They can now use the symbols, photographs of their respective political leaders and call themselves official candidates of political parties as Orissa High Court today slapped a stay on the January 19 notification of the State Election Commission (SEC). A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B N Mohapatra did not endorse the arguments of the SEC and adjourned the case to be taken up again in the March this year, by which time the panchayat polls in the state would be over. The High Court was not satisfied with the contention of the SEC to make the elections of lower rung posts in Panchayat Raj institutions "apolitical" and observed that these elections are always held under political affiliations and the political parties sponsor the candidates for all these posts as is done during urban local body elections. The SEC had come out with a notification debarring the candidates of the rural local body elections, except the zilla parishad members from using the symbols of any political parties. SEC had also asked the political parties to refrain from sponsoring any candidate for ward member, sarpanch and panchayat samiti members. The SEC had even refused to reconsider its decision after it was petitioned by several political parties. (MORE)
