HC admits plea against deputy CM’s election

Cuttack: The Orissa high court on Thursday admitted a petition challenging the election of BJP MLA and deputy chief minister Kanak Vardan Singh Deo from Patnagarh. Singh Deo wrested the Patnagarh assembly seat by defeating his nearest rival Saroj Kumar Meher of the BJD in the recent elections.
Singh Deo, who had won from the seat in 2009 and 2014, secured 93,823 votes in 2024.Meher, who lost by a margin of 1,357 votes, filed the election petition. After a preliminary hearing, the single judge bench of Justice Ananda Chandra Behera issued notice to BJP MLA to file a written statement and fixed Aug 30 for settlement of issues.
While issuing the notice, Justice Behera noted that the petition has sought to declare the election of Singh Deo as void on the ground of improper acceptance of his nomination papers by the returning officer in spite of non-compliance of statutory provisions.