Congress Alleges Targeting by Poll Officials, Calls for Transparency from Election Commission

Samastipur, Bihar, May 12, 2024 - The Congress party on Sunday alleged that its leaders are being targeted by poll officials, claiming that while its chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s helicopter was checked in Bihar’s Samastipur, leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) were being allowed to move “freely”.

Kharge had addressed back-to-back Lok Sabha election rallies in Samastipur and Muzaffarpur in Bihar on Saturday. Congress leader Rajesh Rathorre, in a video message on X, claimed that not only was Rahul Gandhi’s helicopter checked in Kerala, but now party president Kharge’s helicopter has also been checked in Bihar’s Samastipur.

Rathorre, who is the chief spokesperson of the Congress’ Bihar unit, shared a video showing a helicopter surrounded by officials, including police. He claimed that the chief electoral officer of Bihar was personally monitoring the checking of Kharge’s helicopter in Samastipur.

Rathorre called on the Election Commission (EC) to clarify whether such checking of helicopters of Congress leaders is routine and whether similar checks were also conducted on top leaders of the NDA. “The EC should make all such records public, otherwise it will be construed that it is only targeting Opposition leaders to stop them, and is letting NDA leaders go freely,” he said in his video message.

The Congress spokesperson further stated that the EC should release videos of all leaders who have been checked, in the interest of transparency and fairness in the electoral process.