A few hours into the GHMC elections, polling was cancelled in Old Malakpet. A mismatch pertaining to party symbols arose in the 26th division which led to State Election Commission officials cancelling the polls in the area. The decision was taken following a complaint filed by CPI party leaders. In the 26th division ballot papers, instead of ears of corn and sickle symbol of the CPI, hammer and sickle symbol of CPI(M) was shown. The incident led to voters express their anger and the leaders of the Communist Party of India register a complaint with the Telangana State Election Commission over symbol mismatch. According to the latest information, around 6 – 7% of voter turnout had already been recorded in the division.
What went wrong?
The incident mismatch in party symbols has led to discouragement amongst voters, with some of them even levelling allegations against polling officials. The Polling at GHMC-ward 69 in 26th Division at Old Malakpet was stopped by the authorities after in-correct party symbol belonging to the Communist Party of India (CPI) was printed on the ballot paper. Instead of ears of corn and sickle symbol of the CPI, the hammer and sickle symbol of CPI(M) was printed on the ballot paper. A re-polling has been ordered in Old Malakpet by the Elections Authorities.