The State Election Commission (SEC) is going to implement the new rules for elections to the posts of Zilla Parishad President and Vice-President, which will be held on March 13 and 25, respectively.
The state government has recently amended the Odisha Zilla Parishad Election Rules, 1994, by adding another clause.
The new clause provides for appointment of agents by every party and the election officer will allow the authorised agents to verify the votes cast by the elected Zilla Parishad members of their respective parties as is being done during the Rajya Sabha elections, SEC officials said.
As per the new norms, during the indirect elections to the Zilla Parishad President and Vice-President posts, all the members will have to show their votes to the political agent appointed by their own party before dropping it in the vote box.
The parties will have to submit details on appointment of authorised agents in a prescribed form to the electoral officer by 5.30 p.m. a day prior to the election, the officials said.
As per the schedule, an interested elected Zilla Parishad member can submit his or her nomination paper for the President or Vice-President poll in between 10.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. on the election day.
The nominations will be scrutinised in the next one hour while the candidates can withdraw their nominations by 1 p.m. If required, voting will be held from 1.30 to 4 p.m. and then the result will be declared.
Meanwhile, a delegation from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led by its Spokesperson Lenin Mohanty submitted a memorandum to the SEC demanding action against BJP legislator from Sambalpur, Jayanarayan Mishra.
In its memorandum, the BJD has alleged that Mishra has misbehaved with the Sadar tehsildar on February 15.
"He (BJP MLA) has been habitually violating the provisions of law and therefore should be suspended from campaigning as mandated by the model code of conduct," the BJD memorandum said.
The BJD also alleged that BJP leaders and workers are unleashing a wave of murderous attacks and criminal threats against the former's leaders and workers across the state. The BJD delegation demanded strict action against such BJP leaders and workers.