Order probe into Telangana MLA poaching claim, BJP asks EC

New Delhi, October 28

A BJP delegation today met the Election Commission (EC) and demanded a CBI probe into the Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s allegation that its members tried to poach some MLAs of the regional party. They also claimed the entire episode was stage-managed to influence the Munugode bypoll in the southern state.

The delegation also accused Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of indulging in a “sinister attempt to malign the image of Union Home Minister Amit Shah using a fake and doctored audio clip with a view to influence the Dhamnagar bypoll” in the state. They sought deterrent action against the accused and urged the EC to get an FIR lodged against BJD members allegedly behind it. Both Assembly bypolls are due on November 3.

“A fake and doctored audio clip has been released on social media by BJD functionaries of an alleged meeting between Home Minister and an Independent candidate of Dhamnagar constituency. No such meeting took place,” the delegation, which included Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP general secretary Arun Singh, party chief spokesperson Anil Baluni and another leader Om Pathak, said.

Chandrasekhar said serious efforts to “intimidate” and “disrupt” the bypolls in Telangana and Odisha were underway. Both state governments had been “unsettled” by growing popularity of the BJP and were resorting to all means to influence the polls, he alleged.