Odisha panchayat polls: BJD MLA debarred from campaigning for 48 hours

Bhubaneswar: The State Election Commission (SEC) of Odisha has debarred BJD MLA and government chief whip in the assembly, Pramila Mallik, from campaigning in the upcoming panchayat elections for two days.

The commission had on Friday issued a show-cause notice to Mallik for allegedly threatening to stop providing benefits of various schemes to people if they do not vote for the ruling party, thereby violating the model code of conduct, reported PTI.

The senior BJD leader cannot give interviews or make public appearances in the media anywhere in the state for a period of 48 hours from 10 am of Monday, the SEC said.

In a separate order, the poll panel warned against fake voting in the three-tier panchayat elections scheduled to be held in five phases between February 16 and February 24.