"Democracy under threat":" Congress' Kuldeep Rathore slams BJP, ECI after defeat in Bengal

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 6 : Following the announcement of assembly election results in five states, Congress leader and MLA Kuldeep Rathore on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging large-scale manipulation of voter lists in the states.

The BJP recorded landslide victories in West Bengal and Assam, while the NDA led by the NR Congress in Puducherry was re-elected to power. In Kerala, Congress-led UDF won with 102 seats, while TVK emerged as the single-largest party in Tamil Nadu with 108 seats in the debut polls.

Congress leader Rathore accused the ruling dispensation of allegedly "misusing institutions" to influence the electoral outcome.

Addressing a press conference in Shimla, Rathore claimed that deletion of votes under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process played a crucial role in the BJP's electoral victories. "The cutting of votes in the name of SIR has been a major reason behind the BJP's victory. Democracy is under serious threat," Rathore said.

He questioned the neutrality of the Election Commission, alleging it was acting under pressure from the ruling party.

"The role of the Election Commission is to conduct free and fair elections, but today, questions are being raised about its functioning. After ED and CBI, now even the Commission appears to be working at the behest of the BJP," he alleged.

The Congress leader further accused the BJP of focusing its resources strategically to win elections. "The BJP targets one or two states at a time, deploys its full strength, and adopts various tactics to secure victory," he said.

"In Punjab, MPs were broken. In Bihar and Maharashtra, too, the BJP formed governments through similar means. Even those aligned with the BJP are not safe," he alleged.

Raising concerns over the conduct of elections in West Bengal, he said, "Paramilitary forces were misused in West Bengal. Opposition supporters were prevented from voting."

He added that key public issues failed to find space in the electoral discourse. "Inflation and unemployment were not made election issues. Commercial gas cylinder prices have increased, petrol and diesel have crossed Rs 100, but these issues were ignored," he said.

Rathore also criticised the Centre over foreign relations and governance priorities. "India is being insulted internationally, and relations with neighbouring countries are not good. Yet the government's focus is on toppling other governments to form its own," he alleged.

"The way elections are being fought today poses a serious threat to democracy. The Congress will continue to fight against this," he asserted.

BJP won a spectacular 207 seats in the West Bengal assembly polls, ending TMC's 15-year rule. Mamata Banerjee's TMC could manage just 80 seats, while Congress won only two.

Meanwhile, the Congress leader credited voters for prioritising real issues as the UDF won in Kerala. "The people of Kerala are educated and vote on issues, not on communal lines," he said.

In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF ended CM Pinarayi Vijayan's rule by restricting the Left Democratic Alliance (LDF) to 35 seats.

He also took aim at Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, comparing his language to that of a street hooligan. "His style of speaking resembles gutter language and that of a street hooligan," Rathore remarked.

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