As the voting for the byelections on seven seats in Rajasthan concluded on Wednesday, the Congress has raised serious allegations against the local administration. Congress spokesperson and state general secretary Swarnim Chaturvedi accused the administration of not taking complaints seriously and alleged that it had acted in favour of the ruling BJP during the elections.
Chaturvedi stated that a control room was set up in the PCC war room to resolve issues and complaints across the seven constituencies. However, according to him, complaints poured in throughout the day from various seats, many of which were not addressed. He claimed that most of the grievances, except in a few areas, were dismissed without proper action.
One of the most serious allegations came from the Congress over an incident in Khinvsar, where their candidate Dr Ratan Chaudhary was reportedly attacked. A video of the attack surfaced, but no action was taken, according to Chaturvedi. Additionally, the Congress alleged that BJP supporters in Ramgarh were distributing money to influence voters, and that large numbers of BJP workers had suddenly appeared at multiple booths to sway the electorate. While some action was reportedly taken, Chaturvedi emphasised that most of the complaints were ignored by the local administration.
The Congress also accused Dr Kirodi Lal Meena of violating election norms in Dausa. Chaturvedi alleged that Meena, despite not being a resident of Dausa, roamed the area throughout the day attempting to influence voters. He said that the administration was informed of his movements but did nothing to intervene. In some cases, even the Central Observer had to step in, arriving with security forces to ensure that proper action was taken at certain booths.
Further, Chaturvedi claimed that Congress booth agents were harassed and even thrown out of polling booths. He alleged that police personnel intimidated Congress agents, and that they were detained while distributing voting slips until the party intervened. Chaturvedi also said that Congress workers were targeted while BJP supporters were given a free hand by the administration.
The Congress spokesperson accused the local administration of siding with the BJP and claimed that administrative officials were behaving like BJP workers. He alleged that whenever Congress workers raised complaints, the administration turned a blind eye.
On the voting trends, Chaturvedi was optimistic about Congress’ prospects, claiming that the BJP candidates were struggling across most constituencies. He suggested that the BJP was resorting to desperate measures in response to their weakening position, adding that the Congress would continue to monitor the situation closely as the election results approach.