The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Election Commission (EC), accusing the BJP of posting advertisements during the “silent period” in violation of the model code of conduct.
The “silent period” refers to the 48 hours before the close of polling when campaigning is prohibited.
The JMM central general secretary-cum-spokesperson, Supriyo Bhattacharya, wrote the letter to the chief election commissioner on Tuesday, alleging that the Jharkhand BJP was using its official social media handles to post videos and advertisements during the “silent period”.
The second and last phase of the Jharkhand Assembly polls is scheduled on Wednesday and according to the model code of conduct, the campaigning was allowed till Monday evening.
“We have urged the EC to register a criminal case under the IT Act and conduct a high-level probe into the incident,” Bhattacharya told the media in Ranchi on Tuesday.
The JMM leader also alleged that several BJP leaders including a few from neighbouring Bihar were found in a private hall in Dumka.
“We have also complained to the EC that several BJP leaders from outside constituencies and other states were found in a private hall in Dumka and at various hotels of Deoghar. Cash has also been seized from their possession. We have information that two persons have been detained in Dumka and cash amounting to ₹5 lakh has been seized. We want the EC to take action against BJP leaders for violation of model code
of conduct under relevant Acts,” said Bhattacharya.
The JMM leader expressed surprise that several complaints had been lodged against the BJP but no action had been taken so far.
On Sunday, taking serious note of the complaints from the Congress and the JMM regarding a “misleading and malicious video” posted by the Jharkhand BJP on social media platforms, the EC asked chief electoral officer (CEO) Jharkhand K. Ravikumar to immediately direct the Jharkhand BJP to take down the said post from the party’s social media platforms.
It also directed for a notice to explain the alleged violation of provisions of the model code of conduct in the said post.
K. Ravi Kumar was further directed to immediately take action in the matter in coordination with the designated authority in the state under section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act.
The JMM and the Congress, in their complaint on Sunday to the EC, had objected to the video posted by the BJP as misleading and divisive.
On Tuesday morning, chief minister Hemant Soren made a serious allegation against the BJP for sharing the picture of a letter written on “fake” JMM letterhead in which it was written that the JMM candidate from Dhanwar seat Nizamuddin Ansari had been suspended from the party. The letter had the signature of the party’s central general secretary Vinod Kumar Pandey.
Hemant has claimed that sensing defeat, the BJP has now crossed all limits of stooping and resorted to shameful acts of spreading fake information.
Dhanwar (also known as Rajdhanwar) witnesses a triangular contest between BJP state president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, the CPI-ML’s Raj Kumar Yadav and the JMM’s Nizamuddin Ansari.
Voting for the second phase will be held in the remaining 38 Assembly seats of Jharkhand including Santhal Pargana on Wednesday. A total of 528 candidates are in the fray in this phase. Out of these, 55 are women candidates.
According to the information shared by the EC, a total of 1.24 crore voters of the state will choose their new government. There are 62.9 lakh male voters and 61 lakh female voters.
