After Rahul Gandhi, now Tejashwi makes sharp attack on ECI; says 'We were winning but...'

Tejashwi Yadav

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the Bihar Assembly Elections of 2020. He has said that while RJD leaders were winning in Bihar, they were suddenly shown as defeated by small margins at night.

"For the first time, ECI had conducted press conferences thrice to issue clarifications. We were winning but the counting was suddenly stopped in the evening and then the counting resumed late at night. The counting began at 12 in the night and several GA candidates, who were leading the counting till the evening were declared defeated by a margin ranging from 12 to 500 votes in night," he said.

He further asked, "How come the BJP IT Cell knows when the elections will be held, much before the Election Commission announces its schedule?" "If constitutional institutions are destroyed, then where will people get justice? No officer should be influenced by any particular party," Tejashwi added.

Tejashwi's sharp barb comes one day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in an op-ed in The Indian Express, alleged that unfair means were used during the counting of election results for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections of 2024.

Officials from the Election Commission dismissed the allegations made by Gandhi. "Instead of writing to the EC directly, it is very strange that Rahul Gandhi keeps approaching the media seeking answers to his doubts again and again...After losing the match, blaming the referee has become the standard practice," an official reportedly said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also hit back at Gandhi for his allegations and said that the latter did not know how to accept failure. He also said that since Gandhi could not convince the public, he is now choosing the path to confuse them and questioning democracy and the way the Maharashtra Assembly Elections were held.