Chandigarh: Congress MP Manickam Tagore harshly criticized the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday for postponing the Haryana Assembly elections, accusing the poll body of working in favor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Tagore alleged that the EC's decision was politically motivated and aimed at helping the BJP avoid defeat. "Not only ED and CBI, but now the Election Commission has also started to work for the BJP. It's very unfortunate that the Election Commission, at the demand of a political party, has pushed the election date back. It shows that the BJP is afraid of defeat in Haryana," Tagore stated.
Tagore expressed confidence that the unpopular BJP-led government in Haryana would be decisively defeated in every constituency and predicted a clear victory for the Congress. Echoing this sentiment, Deepak Babaria, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Haryana, stated that the delay would not hinder the Congress's preparations for the polls. Babaria criticized the BJP for governing through "adhocism" and claimed that the change in election dates was just another example of this approach. "This delay won't affect us at all. We see this as nothing but their failure," Babaria added.
Congress leader Ajay Maken accused the BJP of trying to delay the elections to mitigate the effects of anti-incumbency in the state. "We are ready, even if the elections take place tomorrow. BJP wants to postpone the elections in some way due to anti-incumbency. We will win comfortably," Maken asserted. The Election Commission of India (ECI) revised the polling date for the Haryana Assembly elections from October 1 to October 5, 2024. Additionally, the counting of votes for both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Assemblies was moved from October 4 to October 8.
The ECI cited a long-standing tradition among families in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana, who visit their native village Mukam in Rajasthan during the annual festival in memory of their Guru Jambheshwar. This year, the festival coincides with the originally scheduled poll day, prompting the decision to revise the election date to accommodate these voters. In response, BJP leader Anil Vij defended the EC's decision, accusing the Congress of trying to avoid the elections. "This reflects the BJP's commitment to democracy and providing opportunities for people to vote in large numbers. The Congress's reaction shows they are running away from the election," Vij remarked.
Former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda also weighed in, suggesting that the BJP's request to the Election Commission indicated their fear of losing the elections. "They have already accepted defeat in Haryana. When the Haryana government wrote a letter to the Election Commission, I had said that the BJP had accepted defeat," Hooda commented.
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