Bhubaneswar: A dispute broke out during the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha after Upasna Mohapatra, the MLA from Brahmagiri, sought a second ballot paper after allegedly overwriting her vote, triggering protests from opposition agents.
Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik alleged irregularities in the voting process, claiming the presiding official violated rules by issuing a second ballot. Patnaik said accepting the vote after issuing another ballot was illegal and amounted to a violation of election laws and democratic norms.
However, BJP MLA Prakash Sethi defended Mohapatra, saying her first ballot had been overwritten. He said the second ballot paper was issued in accordance with the rules of the Election Commission of India.
Sethi said a fresh ballot can be issued if the first one is wrongly marked and not shown to the polling agent. Since Mohapatra had not shown the ballot to the agent, the second ballot was issued as per the rules, he added.
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