New Delhi, Apr 5 (IANS): A BJP delegation on Monday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to rescind the bye-election to the Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency (SC) to be held on April 17.
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP national secretary Sunil Deodhar and senior leader G.V.L. Narsasimha Rao met the poll panel on Monday and urged it to rescind the bypoll immediately to maintain the sanctity of the elections and issue a fresh notification for a later date, preferably immediately after the declaration of the results of the elections to the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTC).
The BJP delegation also demanded the ECI to initiate suitable and strict disciplinary proceedings against the state's chief secretary and district officers, including collectors and SPs of Nellore and Chittoor districts, for disobeying and violating the constitutional mandate and authority of the poll body.
The BJP delegation pointed out that even when the Tirupati bypoll process is underway, the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (SEC) has issued a notification to conduct elections to the MPTC and ZPTC in the state.
"This notification was issued to resume the election process that was paused midway in March 2020 (due to the Covid-19 threat)," the BJP memorandum to the ECI said.
The BJP claimed that after the notification of MPTC and ZPTC polls on April 1, its campaign has been severely hampered by the district officials citing SEC's code of conduct applicable to the local body polls.
"We are not being given permission to conduct our Lok Sabha bypoll campaign for 48 hours before April 8 (the day of MPTC/ZPTC polls) citing SEC guidelines. This is in contravention to the ECI's code of conduct which allows campaigning until 48 hours before April 17, the date of polling in Tirupati," the BJP said.
The saffron party further claimed that simultaneous elections are creating serious confusion among the voters about the symbols of the political parties in the fray.
The BJP further urged the ECI to transfer and debar the district officials responsible for the breach of the model code of conduct, and appoint new officials for conducting the bypoll after the issuance of a fresh notification.