EC seeks responses from Nadda and Kharge on speeches of Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi

The Election Commission has issued notices to Mallikarjun Kharge and JP Nadda regarding complaints filed by Congress and BJP over speeches made during the ongoing Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday sent separate letters to BJP president JP Nadda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, each asking them to respond to the complaint filed by the other party. The ECI sought their formal reply by 1 pm on Monday and recalled an earlier advisory for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to the two leaders directing them to abide by the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) to ensure its campaign ethics.

Congress alleges election ads violation in Maharashtra

The Congress has filed a complaint against the ECI for strategically placing advertisements on Marathi language television channels to promote the Mahayuthi campaign. Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said a television channel was airing the advertisements, which displayed the Shiv Sena campaign slogan apart from a few features. Stating that similar advertisements have also appeared on other Marathi channels, Sawant called for action against the advertisers.

BJP accuses Muslim bodies of vitiating poll atmosphere

Meanwhile, the BJP has accused some Muslim organisations of trying to influence elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand on religious lines. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said All India Muslim Personal Law Board functionary Maulana Sajjad Nomani urged Muslims to support the Mahavikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra. Bhatia also highlighted a call by the Lohardaga unit of the Jharkhand-based Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind urging Muslims to vote for the Congress-Jammu-RJD-CPI(M) Mukti alliance. The BJP has called for action by the ECI and the Supreme Court.

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