Supreme Court dismisses BRS plea regarding identical election symbols

The Supreme Court in New Delhi rejected a plea from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) that challenged the Election Commission’s decision to give two local parties in Telangana symbols that are similar to the BRS’s ‘car’ symbol. The BRS argued that these symbols would harm its position as a political party. However, the court did not agree with this argument. The BRS had sought to quash the poll panel’s decision to allot the symbols ‘road roller’ and ‘chapati roller’ to the Yuga Tulasi Party and Alliance of Democratic Reforms Party respectively. Lawyers for the Yuga Tulasi Party argued that voters would be able to understand the difference between the symbols, as they would also have photographs of the candidates on the electronic voting machines (EVMs). The court noted that the BRS had previously approached the Delhi High Court but later withdrew their plea. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, leading the BRS to withdraw its plea. The court also refused to hear a separate appeal from the BRS against a Telangana High Court order on a similar issue. The BRS claimed that the poll panel’s decision violated their rights and was biased, arbitrary, and discriminatory. The party argued that this decision would cause serious harm to their position as a political party and was against the principles of natural justice.