Congress leaders have criticized the Election Commission (EC) for postponing the Haryana Assembly elections, accusing the poll body of working in favor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Not only ED and CBI but now Election Commission has also started to work for the BJP. It’s very unfortunate that the Election Commission, for a political party’s demand, has pushed the date back and it shows that the BJP is afraid of the defeat in Haryana,” Said Tagore.
“The unpopular government in Haryana which is led by BJP will be defeated with a huge margin in each constituency and the Congress Government will be formed in Haryana with a clear verdict from the people,” he added.
AICC in-charge for Haryana, Deepak Babaria, stated that the delay would not hinder Congress’ preparations. He criticized the BJP for running the Haryana government through “adhocism” and said the election date changes disrupted the administration and voters, but added, “This won’t affect us at all. We see this as nothing else but their failure.”
Congress leader Ajay Maken echoed these sentiments, accusing the BJP of trying to delay the elections to counteract the anti-incumbency sentiment in the state. “We are ready. We were ready earlier too. We are prepared even if the elections take place tomorrow,” Maken asserted, expressing confidence in Congress’ victory.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Saturday that it had revised the polling date for the Haryana Assembly elections from October 1 to October 5. The counting of votes for both the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Assemblies was also moved from October 4 to October 8.
The EC cited a long-standing tradition of families from Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana visiting their native village Mukam in Rajasthan during the Amavas in “Asoj” for an annual festival as the reason for the date change. This festival, scheduled for October 2, would have affected the ability of Bishnoi families in Sirsa, Fatehabad, and Hisar to vote.
In response, BJP leader Anil Vij defended the EC’s decision, accusing Congress of “running away” from the elections. “This reflects BJP’s commitment to democracy and ensuring that people have the opportunity to vote. If Congress doesn’t like this process, they can choose not to vote,” Vij said.
Former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda also weighed in, stating that the BJP’s request for a date change was an acknowledgment of their impending electoral defeat. “When the Haryana government wrote a letter to the Election Commission, I said at that time that the BJP had accepted defeat,” Hooda remarked.
