The Congress has questioned Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G. Sankar’s move to restrict the applicability of the model code of conduct to Hunsur Assembly constituency instead of the entire district of Mysuru.
A delegation of Congress leaders, including R. Dharmasena, MLC, M. Lakshmana, Manjula Manasa, B.J. Vijaykumar, and R. Murthy, met Mr. Sankar, who is also the District Electoral Officer, on Tuesday and urged him to notify that the poll code would be in force across the district.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced byelections in Hunsur on October 21.
Citing ECI rules, the Congress leaders pointed out that the poll code would be applicable only in the area of the constituency concerned if it comprises the State capital, metropolitan city, or municipal corporation. “In all other cases, it is to be enforced in the entire districts, covering the constituency going for byelection,” they said.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Lakshmana argued that the Deputy Commissioner had misinterpreted a letter issued by ECI in January 2018 with regard to a clarification sought by the returning officer of Ajmer parliamentary constituency in Rajasthan. He pointed out that Ajmer constituency also comprised Dudu Assembly segment, which fell in the neighbouring Jaipur district. Responding to the returning officer’s query, the ECI had clarified that poll code application was to be restricted to Dudu and the rest of Ajmer parliamentary constituency. Though Dudu was part of Jaipur district, it was not required that the poll code should be in effect in all of Jaipur.
The Congress leader likened Ajmer parliamentary constituency to Mandya in Karnataka. Mandya constituency comprises K.R. Nagar Assembly segment, which falls in Mysuru district. When byelections were held in Mandya, poll code implementation was restricted to K.R. Nagar constituency and did not extend across Mysuru district.
The Hunsur case
However, according to the Congress leaders, the byelection in Hunsur Assembly constituency was an entirely different scenario and poll code should be enforced across all of Mysuru district, including Mysuru City Corporation limits.
“If elections were to be held in Chamaraja, Narasimharaja or Krishnaraja, the poll code would be applicable only to these segments as they fall within MCC limits. But, Hunsur does not fall under the limits of the corporation. Hence, the poll code should be applicable for all of the district,” the Congress leaders said.
They also urged the Deputy Commissioner to direct the police and district administration officials and ensure that Ministers, MLAs and MPs do not combine their official visits with electioneering work and do not use the official machinery for poll-related work. “No Minister, MLA or MP can summon any election-related officer of the constituency or State for any official discussion anywhere,” the leaders said in a memorandum.
They leaders also urged Mr. Sankar to ensure that photographs of the Chief Minister and Ministers in hoardings and advertisements on KSRTC buses are removed.
