Congress may move court against EC over delay in announcing Gujarat poll schedule

The Congress may move court against the Election Commission (EC) over delays in announcement of Gujarat Assembly Election dates, media reports have said. Party members said they have approached the EC and are awaiting its response within 15 days.

#BREAKING | Congress may approach court against EC over concerns on free and fair polls: Sources | @_pallavighosh with more details pic.twitter.com/lCMXKctY8z

— News18 (@CNNnews18) October 23, 2017

The Congress had urged the EC to immediately announce the Gujarat poll dates, especially after it did so for  the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections .

On 20 October, Congress leader P Chidambaram criticised the Election Commission , saying that by not announcing the Gujarat poll schedule, it has “authorised” Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare dates at his last rally, after all “freebies” for the state were doled out.

Chidambaram had also claimed the Election Commission will be “recalled” from its “extended holiday” after the Gujarat government announced all “concessions and freebies”. Reacting to these comments, Modi said Congress has no moral right to question the constitutional body.

“Some of them (Opposition) are worried why Modi is coming to Gujarat after Diwali. They can’t say anything to me, so they are targeting the Election Commission,” the prime minister said, and asked the gathering, “You tell me, should I not come to Vadodara?”

Meanwhile, all eyes are trained on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, a day after Modi attacked the UPA government of an “ anti-Gujarat, anti-development attitude ” during an address at a public meeting in Bhavnagar after inaugurating a slew of projects.

Gandhi will be visiting poll-bound Gujarat on Monday to attend the Navsarjan Janadesh Mahasammelan rally.

Congress has not been in power in the state since 22 years. In what is being seen as an aggressive fight between the BJP and Congress, reflective of what could happen in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul and company seem to be pulling out all stops to end BJP’s rule in the state.