Andhra Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jana Sena leaders have objected to the allotment of the glass tumbler election symbol to the Navataram party, alleging that 'it has been deliberately done to confuse voters in the forthcoming Tirupati bypoll'.
Glass tumbler is the symbol associated with the JanaSena party founded by actor -- politician Pawan Kalyan. The Jana Sena is also the local ally of the BJP in the southern state.
Jana Sena contested the 2019 polls with this symbol and extensively publicized it as the party's identity.
BJP state General Secretary S Vishnu Vardhan Reddy alleged that the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) was behind this development.
"YSRCP made an independent candidate to file the nomination for the Tirupati bypoll with an election symbol similar to the Jana Sena party and people will teach the ruling YSRCP a good lesson," claimed Reddy on Monday.
Both the BJP and Jana Sena leaders expressed concerns that the symbol now allotted to Navataram Party may eat into the vote share of the allies, who are jointly contesting the Tirupati bypoll.
Navataram Party was founded by Rao Subramanyam and its candidate Goda Ramesh Kumar is contesting the Scheduled Castes-reserved Tirupati bypoll on April 17.
On Monday, senior BJP leaders, including GVL Narasimha Rao urged the Election Commission to rescind the tumbler symbol to Navataram Party for the bypoll.
Reddy claimed that Kumar was not an independent candidate but was contesting under the Navataram party's flag.