Rahul Gandhi slams BJP-EC 'Jugalbandi' over Rajya Sabha 'Seat Chori'

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi slammed the BJP and Election Commission, alleging a 'Jugalbandi' for 'Seat Chori' in Rajya Sabha polls. He cited the cancellation of Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination in MP as an example of alleged collusion.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took a jibe at the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Election Commission (ECI), citing that the "BJP-EC Jugalbandi" has finished the Rajya Sabha biennial elections before it even started due to alleged 'seat chori'. In an X post, Gandhi flagged the cancellation of Meenakshi Natranjan's nomination papers, who was the Congress' Rajya Sabha election candidate from Madhya Pradesh.

"After Vote Chori and Sarkar Chori, the BJP-EC jugalbandi has finished the contest before it has even begun with Seat Chori. Look at what happened in the recent Rajya Sabha elections. Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan ji submitted every document. No pending cases. The EC cancelled her nomination on a frivolous BJP objection," he said.

Gandhi contrasts treatment of candidates

Gandhi underlined that Parimal Nathwani, the BJP-backed independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections from Jharkhand, skipped mandatory details while writing his own name wrong in the form, and yet he was given time from the ECI to fix the mistakes. "Parimal Nathwani, the BJP-backed independent, got his own name wrong on the form and skipped multiple mandatory disclosures. The EC gave him an extension to fix everything," he said.

Further criticising the ECI, Gandhi contrasted that where one candidate was disqualified without even a hearing, the other was rewarded despite not following the rules. "When the Congress sought a meeting, the EC first tried to evade us. When we finally met, they did not say one word. Expect to see much more of this - because for the BJP, it is far easier to fix the election than to win it," he said.

BJP set for unopposed win in MP

The remarks came after the nomination of Congress' Madhya Pradesh candidate for Rajya Sabha biennial elections, Meenakshi Natrajan, was cancelled after a complaint filed by the BJP alleging a discrepancy in her nomination papers.

Meanwhile, with Natarajan's nomination cancelled, all three BJP candidates from Madhya Pradesh--Tarun Chugh, Rajneesh Agarwal and Mahesh Kewat--are set to enter the Rajya Sabha unopposed. (ANI)

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