Congress alleged poll code violation by the BJP in Karnataka
The Congress has complained to the Election Commission about alleged shortcomings in applying election rules and identifying violations in Karnataka and Punjab.
A group of Congress leaders including Salman Khurshid and Pratap Bajwa met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and told him about the party's certain advertisements not being cleared in Karnataka, where election will be held next month, and the ruling BJP in Karnataka issuing tenders worth Rs 1,600 crore just 48 hours before the election code came into force.
The Congress delegation also comprising Nasser Hussain, Pranav Jha and Vineet Punia told the CEC that the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer's team has people who have been working there for six years, when the Election Commission's guidelines say officers should be changed every three years to prevent bias.
A list of such officers has been given to the Election Commission with a request to rotate them, the party said.
The Election Commission has not allowed the Congress to run some advertisements in Karnataka, a move that the party alleged is unfair to them. The Congress said the BJP has run "smear campaigns" against the Congress in Karnataka "without any restraint".
"Yet the Congress is not being given permission to run advertisements that are far tamer in comparison," the Congress delegation that met the CEC said in a statement.
The party alleged the BJP government issuing tenders just before the poll code came into force was "a direct and blatant attempt to influence the outcome of the state election". It has requested the Election Commission to look into the matter.
Regarding Punjab, the Congress delegation alleged the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has transferred several bureaucrats who are loyal to the AAP and also flagged the use of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's photos at "Aam Aadmi Clinics" as violation of the model code of conduct.
Voting in Karnataka and in the Lok Sabha bypoll in Punjab's Jalandhar is on May 10; counting is three days later.