Arunachal Pradesh BJP claims rigging in polls

BJP in Arunachal Pradesh has alleged massive rigging in polls in the state and has demanded in writing from the chief electoral officer about breakdown or failure of CCTV recordings if any.

The party has urged the state chief electoral officer (CEO) to issue directive to the returning officers and district electoral officers to review CCTV camera footages from the time of their installation to before counting of votes on May 16 next about any malfunctioning.

The party demanded in writing from the CEO about breakdown or failure of recordings if any as per the guidelines of the EC, BJP said in a statement here on Sunday.

The party has also levelled allegations against CEO Chandra Bhushan Kumar charging him of violating EC guidelines "by constituting a team of officials of the state government who are very close to the ruling party" to inspect the strong rooms in the state "without giving any information to the candidates contesting in the Parliamentary and Assembly elections."

"During the all-party meeting it had been decided that CCTV cameras would be installed at all the polling stations, but no cameras were installed," it claimed, adding that the absence of such cameras led to "massive rigging and vote capturing."

The party had submitted a petition to the EC, demanding prompt action against the CEO and to replace him with a "neutral officer" to manage the remainder of the election process in the state if the charges were true.