Jharkhand Assembly Elections 2024 | Congress submits memorandum to EC, demands action against BJP for tarnishing minister's image

Ranchi: A Jharkhand Congress delegation on Saturday submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission demanding stern action against the BJP for allegedly tarnishing the image of Congress Minister Irfan Ansari.

On Friday, the BJP's state unit filed a complaint with the EC accusing Ansari of making derogatory remarks about party leader Sita Soren.

Soren shared a video of the alleged remarks on X, demanding an apology from the Congress minister.

In response, Ansari referred to the video as "tampered." The Congress delegation handed over a pen drive containing the "original" video of Ansari to Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar. They claimed that the BJP is circulating a "misleading" and "distorted" version of the video on social media in an attempt to tarnish Ansari's image.

The BJP has nominated Soren to contest against Ansari in the Jamtara assembly seat, which will go to the polls in the second phase on November 20.

Congress leader Rajesh Gupta said Ansari has consistently been a target for BJP leaders. "The allegations against Ansari are baseless. Since the BJP is lagging in the Jamtara assembly race, its leaders are resorting to such statements to remain relevant," Gupta said.

The Congress requested the poll panel to take strict action to prevent such "false" and "misleading" propaganda in the future, ensuring that the electoral process remains fair and clean.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condemned the alleged remarks made by Ansari about Soren, labeling them an insult to the women of Jharkhand. He urged Chief Minister Hemant Soren to immediately remove Ansari from his cabinet for such statements.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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