Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Election Commission on Twitter for allegedly favouring the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as polling for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha 2019 elections drew to an end on Sunday.
Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the Election Commission once used to be “feared and respected” but “not anymore.” He said, “...the Election Commission’s capitulation before Mr Modi & his gang is obvious to all Indians.”
“From Electoral Bonds & EVMs to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, ‘Modi’s Army’ & now the drama in Kedarnath; the Election Commission’s capitulation before Mr Modi & his gang is obvious to all Indians. The EC used to be feared & respected. Not anymore,” he said in a tweet.
From Electoral Bonds & EVMs to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, “Modi’s Army” & now the drama in Kedarnath; the Election Commission’s capitulation before Mr Modi & his gang is obvious to all Indians.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2019
The EC used to be feared & respected. Not anymore.
Rahul’s remarks came just ahead of television channels airing their exit poll results for the Lok Sabha polls which will be declared on May 23.
However, this was not the first time Rahul or the Opposition has attacked the Election Commission over issues of alleged favouritism towards the ruling party since the Model Code of Conduct came into effect.
Rahul’s comment was echoed by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who tweeted, “Polling is over. Now we can say that the 'pilgrimage' of the PM in the last two days is an unacceptable use of religion and religious symbols to influence the voting. “
He added, “Our charge had been that the EC was sleeping on the job. Now, we can go further and say that the EC completely surrendered its independence and authority. Shame!”
Our charge had been that the EC was sleeping on the job. Now, we can go further and say that the EC completely surrendered its independence and authority. Shame!
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 19, 2019
While Rahul words were backed by his party and like-minded individuals, the BJP and its supporters saw this as a defence method as the exit polls predicted the return of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.
The official Twitter handle of the Karnataka unit of the BJP was, “Let’s sum it up. He is accepting the defeat !”
Let’s sum it up.
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) May 19, 2019
He is accepting the defeat ! https://t.co/Yd9qnzXYG4
Six major exit polls conducted by English television channels along with agencies have predicted a huge win for the BJP-led NDA.