Jairam Ramesh's 'G1, G2' jibe at Modi-Shah ahead of poll dates

Congress's Jairam Ramesh slammed the ECI, alleging it delayed announcing poll dates until PM Modi ('G1') completed his inaugurations. He dubbed the MCC as 'Modi's Code of Campaigning,' filled with defamation and fear-mongering.

Congress Slams ECI's Timing

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday took a dig at the Election Commission of India ahead of schedule announcement for upcoming Assembly polls, saying it "would have been given the go-ahead by the G2, since G1 would have completed this round of inaugurations, ribbon-cuttings, flag-offs, and launches". Jairam Ramesh often uses the terms G1 and G2 to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who are both from Gujarat.

"The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the 2026 assembly elections at 4 PM today. It would have been given the go-ahead by the G2, since G1 would have completed this round of inaugurations, ribbon-cuttings, flag-offs, and launches," Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

"The Election Commission's Model Code of Conduct (MCC) will soon come into effect. But since 2014, this has come to stand for Modi's Code of Campaigning - which will be full of defamation, abuses, intimidation, fear-mongering, and spreading the virus of lies," he added.

Other Opposition Leaders Join Criticism

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit also highlighted the PM Modi's recent announcement in the poll-bound states, adding that the ECI should have announced the date much earlier. "We welcome it. We've been waiting for this for a very long time. Actually, it should have been announced much earlier... I would say to the Election Commission that there are already so many doubts about you, but at least don't do things so blatantly. The Prime Minister keeps making announcements left and right, and then suddenly it occurs to you to announce the dates," he said.

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha said, "I just want to say that the Election commissioner should look at their predecessors and conduct themselves accordingly. An independent and unbiased election is not just something written on paper."

ECI Announces Poll Schedule Details

The Election Commission of India (ECI) this morning said that it will announce the schedule for the 2026 Legislative Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry at 4 pm today.

Special intensive revision of the voters' lists in these four states and one union territory has already been conducted, with final electoral rolls published Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had on March 10 visited West Bengal to review poll preparedness in the state.

They had also visited the other states which are heading into polls to review poll preparedness. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)