Chattisgarh polls: Congress sniffs irregularities in postal ballots

Raipur: Opposition Congress today accused BJP of indulging in irregularities with postal ballots for Chhattisgarh Assembly elections and demanded action against alleged ‘pressure’ tactics by the ruling party to get votes. Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi along with other party leaders, in a memorandum to Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Kujur complained of alleged violation of model code of conduct in the postal ballots blaming BJP for pressurising government employees.[caption id=“attachment_1255511” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Poll time. Reuters[/caption] The candidates of BJP are forcing the government employees, who were involved in conducting election and casting their votes through postal ballots, to exercises their franchise in its favour, Trivedi alleged. These employees are also being allured with cash in some constituencies, he alleged, demanding effective steps to check such moves. Around 5,333 postal ballots have been issued for the recently concluded assembly elections on November 11 and 19. Apprehending irregularities in its distribution, Trivedi said that the Election Commission should take the necessary steps for the implementation of specific guidelines for postal ballots and take action against those responsible for violating the Model Code of Conduct. PTI