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Bhubaneswar: A five-member women’s delegation of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) met the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha Wednesday, to lodge a formal complaint regarding an alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by BJP workers during the Nuapada by-election campaign. In the absence of the CEO, the delegation submitted a memorandum to the Additional Chief Electoral Officer, alleging that several women members and workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been openly distributing sarees and other gift items among women voters in various panchayats of the Nuapada Assembly constituency. The delegation further alleged that each saree packet, which was handed over to the women voters, also contained Rs 500 in cash. Such actions, they said, are clearly intended to influence and entice voters, constituting a serious and punishable offence under Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (Bribery), and a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. They added that such activities not only jeopardise the fairness and integrity of the electoral process but also create an unethical and discriminatory environment against other contesting political parties.
