EC gives strong reply to Cong’s ‘intentional delay’ allegation for Gujarat polls schedule

While announcing the dates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday responded to the criticism of the Congress on the Election Commission of India (ECI) for “intentionally delaying” the announcement of poll dates for Gujarat elections. The CEC also suggested the political parties to focus on ECI’s actions and the way it focuses on providing correct results.

Addressing a press briefing, CEC Rajiv Kumar said, “The announcement of the election dates has to balance many things. There are many factors that need to be considered. The last date, February 18, 2023, of the Gujarat Assembly was announced well in advance.”

ECI responds to Congress’ recent tweet

In response to the recent jibe of the Congress party on the ECI, Kumar said, “Action and outcome actually speak louder than words. No matter how much I try to make you understand, what's important are the actions and our correct results. Results have shown that those who are critical got surprising results. EC has a proud legacy. These are attempts to create negative environment before elections.”

The CEC’s comments came after Congress on Thursday took a veiled dig at the ECI for delaying the announcement of dates for the Gujarat Assembly elections. The Grand Old Party took to Twitter and raised questions over the poll body claiming that the ECI is under pressure from the BJP government and saffron party leadership. 

"The Election Commission of India is an autonomous institution. It conducts fair elections,” the Congress party's official Twitter handle said in a sarcastic tweet with three monkeys emojis, in a reference to Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote.

EC intentionally delaying Gujarat polls: Congress

Earlier in October, Congress accused ECI of “intentionally delaying” the announcement of Gujarat Assembly elections to favour BJP and PM Modi. The Congress’ comments came after the party registered a victory for the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat in Punjab.

“The ECI has intentionally delayed the announcement of date(s) for Gujarat elections just to favour Modi, to enable him to make tall, hollow promises to the people of Gujarat,” Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said holding a protest outside the poll body’s office in Delhi.

Notably, the Congress' protest came after the ECI announced the poll dates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections that would be held on November 9 and the results declared on December 18.