BJP wants NPP symbol be seized; Scared, says latter

JAMMU: During their meeting with the visiting Election Commission observers in Jammu, the BJP members demanded that the election symbol of Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party should be seized as one of its senior leader, who contested Assembly elections from Ramnagar constituency in 2014, was voted very less number of votes. “As per the Election Commission norms, a candidate should be polled atleast 1/6th of total vote polled during the elections and if he or she fails to secure that much number of votes, the symbol of the party, to which he or she belongs, stands seized by the ECI,” informed sources told The News Now. “The JKNPP candidate in question was polled less than 1/6th of the total votes polled and his party’s symbol should be seized,” they said.

Meanwhile, when contacted, the said JKNPP candidate, who was stated to be polled less votes in 2014 Assembly elections, said, “The BJP members are saying this in fear as they are worried about my growing popularity in the public.” “They are ignorant about the ECI ruling, whereby it has ordered to grant extension to those parties, which were not able to fulfill the required vote percentage in the elections,” he said, adding, “The Election Commission has done this in one go for all the parties and it has maintained that it will not derecognize any of the parties.”

“Actually, they are feared of Panthers Party’s popularity because there are around 32 different political parties in the country and they find only us to target in such a way,” he further added.