"Now, EC has started working for BJP": Congress' leaders criticise Election Commission for postponement of Haryana Assembly polls

New Delhi [India], September 1 : Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Sunday slammed the Election Commission for postponing the Haryana Assembly polls and accused the poll body of working for the BJP.
"Not only ED and CBI but now Election Commission has also started to work for the BJP. It's very unfortunate that the Election Commission, for a political party's demand, has pushed the date back and it shows that the BJP is afraid of the defeat in Haryana," Tagore told ANI.
"The unpopular government in Haryana which is led by BJP will be defeated with a huge margin in each constituency and the Congress Government will be formed in Haryana with a clear verdict from the people," he added.
AICC in-charge of Haryana, Deepak Babaria said this delay will not affect the Congress' preparations for the polls.
"...BJP had issues. They were running the government for 10 years through adhocism, they set the dates through the same adhocism...later the dates were changed. But in this process, the affected the entire administration, voters and timetable...This won't affect us at all. We see this as nothing else but their failure," Babaria said.
Congress leader Ajay Maken said the BJP was looking to delay to polls to battle anti-incumbency it faces in the state.
"We are ready. We were ready to earlier too. We are prepared even if the elections take place tomorrow. BJP wants to postpone the elections in some or the other way due to anti-incumbency. We are ready. We will win comfortably," Ajay Maken said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday revised the polling day for Haryana Assembly polls from October 1 to October 5, this year as well as moved the counting of votes for both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Assemblies from October 4 to October 8.
As per the representation for generations, numerous families in Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana have observed a long-standing tradition of visiting their native village Mukam, in Rajasthan during the Amavas in the month of "Asoj" for their annual festival in Bikaner district, in the memory of their Guru Jambheshwar.
This year, the festival will take place on October 2 and thousands of Bishnoi families residing in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar will be travelling to Rajasthan on poll day, denying them their voting rights, the Election Commission of India said.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Anil Vij on Sunday defended the EC's decision. He criticised the Congress for criticising the EC's move, saying that it is the reflection of their running away from the election.
"This reflects the commitment of BJP to the democracy in India and providing opportunities for people to vote in large numbers. On the part of Congress, it reflects that they are running away," Vij told ANI.
"If you (Congress) do not like this process, sit at home and don't cast your vote. Let those who like the process, vote...What rigging it is if dates have been revised? The dates have been revised in the interest of people," he added.
Meanwhile, former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday said that the move reflects the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) acknowledgement of an impending electoral loss.
"It is the Election Commission's right, they have extended the date. They (BJP) have already accepted defeat in Haryana. When the Haryana government wrote a letter to the Election Commission, I had said at that time that the BJP had accepted defeat," Hooda said.