Maharashtra: Similar names of poll symbols led to defeat in Satara, says NCP(SP)

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Jayant Patil on Wednesday claimed that the similarity between the name of the party’s election symbol with that of an independent candidate led to its defeat in Maharashtra’s Satara Lok Sabha constituency, PTI reported.

Speaking to reporters, Patil said that the similarity in the names of the symbols created confusion among voters.

The BJP’s Udayanraje Bhonsle defeated Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate Shashikant Jayvantrao Shinde by a margin of 32,771 votes in the Satara seat.

Independent candidate Gade Sanjay Kondiba stood third in the constituency and got 37,062 votes. He had been allotted a tutari as his poll symbol, which is similar to the symbol of Sharad Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, PTI reported.

A tutari, also known as turha, is a trumpet that is sounded to mark the entry of important individuals or at the beginning of significant events.

On Wednesday, Patil alleged that symbols with similar names were allotted to independent candidates in a deliberate attempt to divide the votes. He also said that the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the party would raise the matter with the Election Commission.

In February, the poll panel allotted the symbol of a “man blowing turha” to the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar).

This came after the Election Commission recognised Deputy Chief Minister...

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