Kejriwal slams ECI, says it's 'working under BJP' after TMC meet

AAP's Arvind Kejriwal accuses the ECI of openly working under the BJP. This comes after a TMC delegation led by Derek O'Brien alleged the CEC abruptly ended their meeting where they raised concerns about fair elections in West Bengal.

Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday sharply criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), remarking that there is no need to even say that the polling body is "working under the BJP." These remarks come a few hours after ECI met with a TMC delegation, which stated that they have been given a "straight talk" that elections in the state will be fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, inducement-free, raid-free, and source-jamming-free.

Suggesting that ECI should not "publicly" tarnish the reputation of the institution, Kejriwal wrote on 'X' and said, "Now there's no need to even say that the Election Commission is working under BJP and taking direct instructions from BJP. This is now out in the open and extremely unfortunate. At the very least, by tweeting in such language, don't publicly tarnish the reputation of such an important institution."

TMC's Contentious Meeting with ECI

The recent 'X' post drew sharp criticism of the ECI, with TMC MP Derek O'Brien alleging that the Chief Election Commissioner asked the party delegation to leave within five minutes. He also challenged the Commission to release video or audio of the meeting.

Addressing a press conference, O'Brien said, "Today, we went to the Chief Election Commissioner. He told us 'get lost' within 7 minutes of the meeting. The meeting started at 10:02 AM and ended at 10:07 AM... When we told him that you are transferring officials, and how you would want to conduct a free and fair election? And then he said, leave from here... What I saw today is a shame. I challenge the Election Commission to release the video or audio of what happened today."

"One of our colleagues congratulated him on being the only CEC in India to have notices in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to be removed, and on that issue, today, all like-minded anti-BJP parties together are having a press conference at 4-4:30 in the evening," he said.

ECI's Response to Allegations

Meanwhile, as per the Election Commission Officials, Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) Gyanesh Kumar requested TMC MP Derek O'Brien to maintain decorum, stating that shouting and inappropriate behaviour are unacceptable in the Commission's premises.

TMC Flags Concerns Over Electoral Neutrality

The party has also separately written to the poll body, expressing "grave concern" over claims that politically biased officials and observers are threatening electoral neutrality in the state ahead of the Assembly election. In the letter, the party flagged concerns over the "neutrality, fairness, and transparency" of the electoral process, asserting that recent developments point to a disturbing erosion of institutional impartiality.

ECI Vows Fair Elections in West Bengal

Earlier in the day, the ECI affirmed that the 2026 State Assembly elections will be free from fear and violence. In an X post, the ECI called for no booth and source jamming on the days of polling in West Bengal. "ECI's Straight-talk to Trinamool Congress. This time, the Elections in West Bengal would surely be: Fear-free, Violence-free, Intimidation-free, Inducement-free and without any Raid, Booth Jamming and Source Jamming," the poll body said.

Polling for the 294-member Assembly in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4. (ANI)

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