Assembly poll: Cong interim report blames BJP, EC for manipulations

The Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BJP will come under fire in the interim report by the Congress on alleged "poll manipulations" during the Haryana Vidhan Sabha elections held in October this year.

After securing five seats in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had hoped for a strong comeback in the Assembly elections. However, while the BJP secured a clear majority with 48 seats, the Congress managed to win only 37 seats. In the first week of November, the Congress approached the ECI and formed an eight-member committee, led by former minister Karan Singh Dalal, to investigate the alleged manipulations believed to have been orchestrated by the ruling BJP.

Sources confirmed that Dalal has already submitted his "interim" report to Congress general secretary incharge of Haryana, Deepak Babaria. The Congress is expected to present its findings in a press conference tomorrow.

"We will make the report public. Also, since the report has been submitted to me, I will put it up to the party top brass for consideration along with my own observations," Babaria said.

Dalal’s 40-page report is said to include constituency-wise details of alleged manipulations, which he claims helped swing the results in favour of the BJP. Sources within Congress stated that the report highlights several "facts and complaints" that were allegedly ignored by the Election Commission, which they claim enabled the BJP’s third consecutive term in government.

According to reports, the final version of the report is expected to be completed in the next two months. A member of the committee, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the delay in the report’s preparation is due to a lack of cooperation from the government in responding to the committee's queries. "We are struggling to get RTI replies to our queries," the leader said.