Call off Assam poll where candidate defected, Cong tells EC

Ahead of the poll in the third and final phase of the state Assembly polls on April 6, BPF candidate Rangja Khungur Basumatary alias Ram Das Basumatary, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday in presence of Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. 

The Congress delegation to the Election Commission was led by senior party leader and former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, who argued that it was incumbent upon the poll body to ensure the purity of the electoral process and free and fair polling. He argued that "the defections induced by illegal means even before the counting of votes, is a new phenomenon which is a fraud on the people and robs the electorate of the freedom of choice in the election of their representative". 

He said that the nation looks to the Election Commission to exercise its constitutional power to subserve the larger purpose of ensuring the sanctity, transparency and integrity of the electoral process. 

The party, also sought an enquiry into how EVMs were loaded in a vehicle belonging to a BJP candidate. The Election Commission informed the delegation that four officers have been suspended. 

Another issue raised by the Congress was about the photograph of the Prime Minister on vaccination certificates. While the EC has passed directions ordering the removal of the photos, the party urged the poll panel to ensure that its directions be complied with in states where by-elections are being held.