Rajasthan Assembly Elections: The BJP candidate from the Tijara Assembly seat in Alwar, Baba Balaknath, received a notice for allegedly violating the model code of conduct. The notice was issued in response to a video in which he stated that if there are 1,440 votes in a village, the count would turn out to be 1,450. The election officer has sought a clarification on his statement within two days.
While addressing a programme, Baba Balaknath claimed to win 110 per cent of the votes. "This time, voting will be such that if the number of votes in a village is 1,440, counting will show that 1,450 votes were polled," Balaknath is purported to have said in a programme on Sunday. A video of the event surfaced on Monday.
Election department sought response in 2 days
The election department took note of the video and issued a notice to BJP MP Baba Balaknath, stating that there was a clear violation of the election code of conduct. The election department asked BJP MP Baba Balak Nath to send his clarification within two days or else there would be required actions against him.
In a letter to Baba Balaknath, the election department Of Tijara wrote, "It has come to our notice that, while giving a campaigning speech in the Tijara district, you said, "This time the voting will be such that the number of votes in the village will be 1,440 and the number of vote fallout will be 1,450.", which is a clear violation of the election code of conduct. Therefore, you should submit your written reply to the office within 02 days. Otherwise, there will be action against you as per the rules for violation of the model code of conduct". The Model code of conduct is a set of guidelines given by the Election Commission of India, with respect to the speeches, polling booths, election manifestos etc, during elections. The MCC is enforced from the date of notification of the election, which was on October 9.
What Balaknath said after notice
Balaknath stated that his comments were made with the intention of motivating party workers. He added that he would respond if an official notice was served to him regarding the matter. "I said those things just to motivate the workers. If a notice is served, I will reply," he said.
Rajasthan elections
The Rajasthan assembly elections are scheduled to be held in a single phase, with all 200 seats going to polls on November 23. The counting of votes will be done on December 3, along with Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana. The term of the 200-member Rajasthan assembly ends on January 14. The current term of the 200-member Rajasthan assembly is set to end on January 14.
In Rajasthan – which will see a direct fight between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on November 23 – anti-incumbency is an important factor. Since 1993, when the BJP came to power after a stint of President’s rule, the state has alternated between the Congress and the BJP.
In 2018, Congress won 100 seats in the 2018 Assembly polls. BJP followed at 73 seats while BSP garnered 6 seats. Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) gathered 3 seats with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) mustered 2 seats each. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) managed to grab just one seat while there were 13 independent candidates in the 2018 Assembly Elections.
(With agencies input)
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