Controversial Campaign Ad Sparks Political Showdown in Odisha

Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal filed a complaint with the Election Commission against BJP candidate Sambit Patra for using a photo of the Sri Jagannath Temple in an advertisement. This allegedly violated the Model Code of Conduct. The BJD also raised concerns about unrecorded campaign expenses.

Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) against BJP's Puri Parliamentary Constituency candidate Sambit Patra for using a photo of Sri Jagannath temple in an advertisement issued by him in the local media.

In a petition to the chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar, the BJD highlighted that the full-page advertisement featuring Patra's picture with Sri Jagannath Temple in the background also had the BJP's ''lotus'' symbol.

The BJD also noted that on Monday, Patra made an ''offensive'' comment stating that ''Lord Jagannath is the devotee of Modi,'' which severely affected the sentiments of millions of Odias worldwide. Although Patra later clarified that his remark was inadvertently made and expressed regret, the BJD argued that the advertisement violated the Model Code of Conduct for political parties and candidates.

''But the issue here is issuing a full page advertisement with his photo and the temple in background along with party symbol. We strongly object to it and consider this to be a violation of the poll code for political parties and candidates,'' the BJD said. The party demanded that immediate action be taken against Patra, with a formal notice issued and made public.

They also argued that since Patra's picture appeared in the advertisement, the expenditure should be accounted under his personal campaign expenses, not the party's. The BJD estimated the total cost of the advertisement at around Rs 2.5 crore.They also noted that expenses for the Prime Minister's roadshow in support of Patra have not been allocated to his campaign expenses account. The BJD urged the EC to ensure that all related expenses be appropriately recorded in Patra's expense account.

Neither BJP, nor Patra were available for comment.

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