Ahmedabad, Sep 28 (PTI) The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party on Monday accused the ruling BJP in Gujarat of misusing the police and the Election Commission to cancel and withdraw nominations of Opposition candidates in the October 11 elections to the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation.
The BJP denied the “baseless” allegations, terming them a “modus operandi” to attack Constitutional bodies.
The AAP claimed that the nomination form of its candidate for ward number 5 was rejected “solely for political reasons”.
A Congress delegation made a representation to the State Election Commission against the BJP’s “misuse of government machinery and the police to intimidate its candidates and their family members into withdrawing their nomination forms for the GMC elections”, party sources said.
As per the poll schedule, September 26 was the last date to file nominations for the October 11 elections.
“Personnel from the Local Crime Branch and the local police, including an LCB Police inspectors are pressuring Congress candidates from civic wards 6 and 7, as well as their family members and relatives, to withdraw their nomination papers.
“Such actions amount to intimidation and an abuse of power, and they seriously jeopardise the candidates’ freedom of choice,” the Congress memorandum said.
Separately, AAP’s chief spokesperson Karan Barot claimed the nomination form of its candidate Jitendra Chauhan was rejected “solely for political reasons”.
“Chauhan filed his nomination with all necessary documents, and we left with the receipt confirming that the form had been filed with the complete documentation. Yet today, his form was rejected without any notice on the ground that the mandate was missing,” he alleged.
Barot alleged attempts to prevent AAP candidates from contesting the elections.
“The underlying ‘arrangement’ is such that if Congress candidates contest and win, they eventually defect to the BJP, a practice AAP does not engage in. It is for this reason that one of our candidates’ forms has been rejected, along with that of an independent candidate,” he said.
Accusing the BJP of misusing the ED and the CBI, he said even the Election Commission is under a cloud of suspicion.
Reacting to allegations, Gujarat BJP’s chief spokesperson Anil Patel accused Congress of adopting a strategy to defame Constitutional bodies.
“Congress has decided to attack Constitutional institutions and defame them domestically and internationally. One should have faith in Constitutional institutions. Elections were recently held in several states; they were conducted democratically, and the results were declared impartially,” Patel said.
He dubbed Congress’s claims of forced withdrawal of candidates its “modus operandi to make baseless allegations” whenever the party senses defeat in elections.
“The Congress does not trust its own candidates. First EVMs, then SIR, and now they are making allegations against the Election Commission. Instead of acknowledging their own shortcomings and strengthening themselves, Congress resorts to making false allegations,” he added.
The BJP swept the elections to 15 municipal corporations in Gujarat, except for Gandhinagar and Junagadh, held in April this year. The ruling party registered a landslide victory across municipal corporations, municipalities, district panchayats, and taluka panchayats, while the Congress finished a distant second and the Aam Aadmi Party registered limited gains.
The results also saw the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) open their accounts in Gujarat for the first time.
The assembly elections in the state are due next year. PTI KA PD NSK
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