RJD accuses Nitish of delaying counting, influencing returning officers

Patna, Nov 10 : A bitter battle is going on for the 243-seat Bihar Assembly between the two alliances. In the midst of this, the RJD has alleged that the JD-U is trying to slow down the pace of counting. It has also alleged that successful candidates are not being given winning certificates.

Addressing journalists here on Tuesday, RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha said he wants to urge Chief Minister Nitish Kumar not to disrespect the people’s mandate.

“The Mahagathbandhan will emerge victorious. The people of Bihar won’t tolerate such actions. I request the outgoing CM not to call up returning officers and put pressure on them,” Jha said.

The official Twitter handle of the party also tweeted out a list of 119 candidates who they claimed had emerged victorious. But the EC’s returning officers were not giving them winning certificates, the party alleged.

Chitranjan Gagan, state spokesperson of the RJD, also alleged that CM Nitish Kumar was misusing his power to affect the electoral process in more than a dozen constituencies. Hence, his party is going to file complaints before the Election Commission of India.

“On around 12 to 13 seats, our candidates have won the election by narrow margins of 100 to 200 votes. The CM has influenced and applied pressure on the returning officers of the respective districts for recounting and influenced the result wrongfully in favour of NDA candidates,” alleged Gagan.

But the ruling JD-U has refuted all such allegations, calling them a sign of frustration. Sanjay Singh, spokesperson of JD-U, said: “The people of Bihar have defeated the Mahagathbandhan and now its leaders are levelling false allegations against us. The NDA has contested these elections with Nitish Kumar as the CM face and he will remain the Chief Minister of Bihar.”

–IANS
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