SC Refuses to Hear BRS Plea on Election Symbols Resembling ‘Car’

The Supreme Court on Friday to entertain a petition by Telangana’s ruling party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which sought a directive to the Election Commission not to allocate election symbols that resemble its party symbol, the “car,” for the upcoming assembly election in Telangana.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal rejected the petitions filed by the BRS party.

The BRS’s plea was to prevent the allocation of election symbols similar to the “car symbol,” including a road roller and other symbols that resemble its party symbol.

The court observed that voters are capable of distinguishing between a car and a road roller.

The BRS argued that an election symbol like a road roller would cause confusion with its party symbol, the “car.” However, the Supreme Court was not persuaded by this argument and questioned the BRS party for filing such a plea, which could potentially lead to a delay in the upcoming election. Earlier, the Delhi High Court also refused to entertain the BRS’s petition.

The petitioner argued that when voters use electronic voting machines (EVMs), certain symbols like the road roller, chapatti maker, and camera appear similar to the BRS party’s car symbol. As a result, party members may lose votes.

Previously, BRS leader Ravula Sridhar explained that the party’s request was made because they had lost votes in some instances due to car-like symbols on the EVMs. Regarding the entire matter, the BRS leader stated that voters who intended to vote for the BRS party and the car symbol might inadvertently vote for a different symbol that resembled the car symbol, potentially distorting the true mandate.

Elections in Telangana are scheduled for November 30, with vote counting taking place on December 3. Elections are also being held in four other states: Mizoram on November 7, Chhattisgarh on November 7 and November 17, Madhya Pradesh on November 17, and Rajasthan on November 25.

The Telangana assembly election is expected to feature a three-way contest between the BJP, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, and the Congress. In the previous Assembly election in 2018, the BRS won 88 out of 119 seats and secured a dominant vote share of 47.4 percent, while the Congress came in second with 19 seats and a vote share of 28.7 percent.