Poll Violation Complaint Against PM Modi Missing? Election Body Says "Glitch"

A complaint alleging poll code violation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Maharashtra's Latur appears to be "missing" from the Election Commission's website. A total of 426 complaints have so far been made to the election body throughout the campaign. The list is publicly available on the Election Commission's site.

The lone complaint filed on April 9 accusing PM Modi of violating the code is not seen on the list.

The complaint was filed by a Kolkata-based individual, Mahendra Singh after the PM urged voters at a rally in Maharashtra's Latur, to dedicate their votes to the "Pulwama martyrs" and the soldiers who carried out the Balakot strike.

Two days later, the Election Commission asked for an explanation along with the speech transcript from the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer by 1 pm today.

There is confusion over the status of the complaint.

Mahendra Singh said when he logged in, using a feature that allows public to check the progress of the complaint, the status said "resolved".

The Election Commission clarified on Wednesday evening that instead of "resolved", the portal should have shown "details forwarded to Election Commission headquarters". 

"Explanation of the concerned officer has been called through CEO Maharashtra by 1 pm tomorrow," the Election Commission said.

A senior Election Commission official said the the incorrect status was displayed due to a "technical glitch". The official said the complaint was "very much open" and an explanation from the Maharashtra electoral officer was under consideration.

But two weeks on, there is no action from the powerful election body on the complaint against PM Modi.

And in this period, the Prime Minister has made references to Pulwama and Balakot more than once.

Election Commission sources told NDTV that they would act soon on complaints about the PM referencing the air strikes during his rallies to showcase his party BJP's "national security" plank as it seeks reelection in the national election.

Three rounds of voting have taken place for the seven-phase election which ends on May 19. The results will be announced on May 23.