In a letter written on the eve of the outcome, Tharoor’s election agent Salman Soz accused that the election in UP to select the subsequent president of the Congress noticed “extraordinarily critical irregularities”.
Within the four-page letter to Madhusudan Mistry, who oversaw the election, Soz alleged “use of unofficial seals for poll bins”, “presence of unofficial individuals in polling cubicles”, “voting malpractice”, “no polling abstract sheet”. “As you may see, the details are damning and the election course of in UP is devoid of credibility and integrity,” he wrote.
Talking to The Indian Categorical, Rameshwar Lal Dudi, who was the Pradesh Returning Officer for the election in UP, mentioned it was a minor disagreement. “The allegations have been levelled, and Madhusudan Mistryji clarified, and Shashi Tharoorji additionally accepted it. The election was peaceable and very reasonable. There isn’t any query of any irregularity.”
The letter additionally named a number of UP Congress leaders for allegedly being concerned within the malpractices, together with Omveer Yadav. Noting that Yadav was Kharge’s proposer, the letter questioned his presence contained in the polling sales space, in opposition to the principles.
“Your workplace didn’t point out anyplace that there can be extra folks within the polling sales space and there was no course of intimiated to us by which such individuals may very well be allowed to take a seat contained in the polling space,” learn the letter.
Yadav instructed The Indian Categorical “the election was very reasonable and sincere”. “The most important factor is that the polling brokers representing Tharoorji had given in writing that they have been glad with the election course of. There isn’t any challenge. Tharoorji is our chief, and so is Khargeji. Some persons are spreading such rumours to hurt the get together,” he mentioned.
A senior Congress chief mentioned that the polling brokers appointed by the Tharoor camp weren’t from UP, and that led to the confusion. “His polling brokers have been all from different states. They failed to know issues right here,” mentioned the chief.
He additionally requested how the letter bought leaked. “As a result of they sensed they have been dropping, they leaked the letter. It was the doing of the Tharoor group, and never Tharoorji himself,” the chief mentioned.
After Mistry Wednesday requested how the letter reached the press and that “it ought to have come to us”, Soz tweeted, “In mild of complaints from our UP group yesterday, we wrote to the INC’s CEA (Congress Central Election Authority) instantly, a typical follow. Subsequent discussions with the CEA have assured us of a good inquiry. We now have agreed for the counting to proceed and our group seems to be ahead to the outcomes.”
Tharoor additionally posted on Twitter saying, “It was unlucky {that a} strictly inner letter to the CEA was leaked to the media. I hope this clarification by Salman Soz ends an pointless controversy. This election was meant to strengthen the INC, to not divide it. Let’s transfer on.”