BJP complains to the Chhattisgarh Election Commission, alleging that Cong candidates have not disclosed their criminal histories

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Raipur has received a complaint from the opposition BJP in Chhattisgarh demanding action against 83 Congress candidates for allegedly failing to provide the Election Commission with information on their criminal records within 48 hours of their selection.

However, the Congress said that the BJP was making false accusations against the candidates of the governing party.

A spokeswoman for the Congress said that no one with “criminal tendencies” had been issued tickets and that they would meet the Election Commission’s requirements.

Out of the state’s 90 seats, the Congress has so far announced candidates for 83 of them. Voting will take place in two stages on November 7 and 17.

According to a statement from the BJP’s state legal cell convener Jaiprakash Chandravanshi, the BJP cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in its complaint to the CEO on Saturday, which mandates that political parties provide the Election Commission with candidates’ criminal backgrounds within 48 hours of their selection.

According to him, the Congress violated the ruling of the supreme court by failing to provide the EC with the criminal histories of its 83 candidates or to disclose them on the party website, on social media, or in two newspapers, including a national and a local publication.

The suit demanding appropriate action against them for alleged disobedience of the SC’s directives contains a list of Congress candidates who have not disclosed their criminal histories attached to it, Chandravanshi said.

When contacted, Dhananjay Singh Thakur, a spokeswoman for the state Congress, said that his party had not offered tickets to anybody with “criminal tendencies” and claimed that the BJP was known for protecting criminals and running them as candidates.

He said that the BJP has been making up accusations against Congress candidates who have a “clean image”.

The head of the Congress said, “We will meet the requirements established by the Election Commission.”

On November 7, voting will take place in 20 of the 90 assembly seats for which nominations were accepted until Friday.

Candidates from the Congress, BJP, and other parties have already submitted their nominations for the first round, and it is a requirement that they include a statement in the nomination papers disclosing any criminal history they may have.