EC rejects 'absurd' Congress demand to hide lotus ponds in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission ( EC) has refused to entertain the demand of Congress's Madhya Pradesh unit to "hide" lotus ponds in Mahakoshal, Malwa and Bundelkhand regions of the state, terming it as "absurd" and "an insult to the intelligence of the voter".


"The Congress's reasoning that lotus ponds can swing the poll in favour of the BJP, which has 'lotus' as its poll symbol, is "ridiculous" and granting such a request would amount to undermining the intelligence of the voter," a senior EC official told TOI.

"Going by that argument, even handshakes should be banned as it could be interpreted as an act meant to disturb the level-playing field in favour of the Congress, which holds the 'hand' as poll symbol," he added.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress was reportedly encouraged to seek "covering" of the state's lotus ponds — based on an earlier EC order directing the erstwhile Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh to cover all statues of the elephant, the BSP's poll symbol — during the 2012 state poll.

Stone replicas of elephant erected in Ambedkar parks and memorials across the state were veiled until the polls were completed, after the EC took the view that looking at the elephants could cause undue influence on the voters' mind.

The ruling was questioned by many, but the Commission stood its ground. TOI has now learnt that a section of the commission had opposed the covering of the "elephant statues in Uttar Pradesh" when the issue came up for discussion. It was emphasized that the voter does not exercise his franchise by looking at statues but chooses the right candidate based on his standing/performance and policies of the party he represents.

"However, this section was in a minority, with the result that the majority view favouring covering of the elephant statues prevailed," said an EC official.

The Congress's Madhya Pradesh unit had on Monday written to the EC requesting it to "hide" from public view the lotus ponds across Mahakaushal, Malwa and Bundelkhand regions so that voters were not unfairly drawn to the BJP symbol.

Demanding a level-playing field, the Congress urged the EC for suitable directions to cover all ponds where the lotus is cultivated to be sold across the country.