Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), July 22: On Thursday, several petitions challenging the election of seven MLAs, including Jajpur Lok Sabha MP Rabi Narayan Behera and Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, were filed with the Orissa High Court.
The Odisha general election results were announced on June 4, and a total of nine petitions have now been submitted to the high court, with two having been filed earlier. On Thursday, Saroj Kumar Meher, a BJD candidate who lost by 1,357 votes, contested the election of Deputy CM KV Singh Deo, a BJP MLA. Meher has questioned the counting process and is seeking to have Singh Deo’s election declared void.
Under the Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1951, election petitions must be filed within 45 days of a candidate’s election.
In a similar vein, BJP’s Jagannath Pradhan has challenged the election of BJD MLA Ananta Narayan Jena from Bhubaneswar-Central, citing concerns over the postal ballot counting procedure. Pradhan, who lost by a narrow margin of 37 votes, is calling for a new election.
Former Bargarh MLA Debesh Acharya has also approached the High Court against BJP MLA Ashwini Sarangi, alleging that Sarangi provided false information about his criminal cases and assets in his nomination affidavit.
Additionally, former BJD minister Ashok Chandra Panda has contested the election of BJP MLA Babu Singh from the Bhubaneswar-Ekmara constituency, and Bishnubrata Routray of the BJD has challenged the election of Congress MLA Ashok Kumar Das for the Basudevpur constituency.
Former MP Sarmistha Sethi of the BJD has filed a petition against BJP’s Rabi Narayan Behera, who won the Jajpur parliamentary seat by a margin of 1,587 votes.
