Opposition parties on Saturday complained to the Election Commission against the Bhartiya Janata Party's name appearing under its symbol on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
According to the opposition leaders, 'BJP' was written under the lotus symbol on EVMs during a mock poll in West Bengal's Barrackpore constituency. However, the poll panel said that the same insignia has been under use since 2013.
A delegation of leaders from ten opposition parties, including Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress, Dinesh Trivedi and Derek O'Brien of the Trinamool, met Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and demanded that the BJP's name should either be removed from the voting machines or the names of other parties be added.
However Election Commission official said that the opposition parties were incorrect in their deduction. "In mid-2013, the BJP approached the commission saying that the outline of their symbol is very light and should be bolder. Based on their request, the outline of lotus was made bolder, and that included the water below the lotus symbol. These water lines look like F and P but not BJP," he said, adding that the symbol has been in use since 2014.
