Amid scolding over Haryana loss, Sena's soothing words for Congress
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has weighed in on the Congress's recent loss in the Haryana elections. The party's editorial mouthpiece questioned the Election Commission of India's (ECI) dismissal of the Congress's complaints about delayed live data publication. It also raised concerns about the parole release of rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim just before voting day in Haryana.
Sena questions ECI's dismissal of Congress's complaints
The Shiv Sena editorial also drew a timeline of events on the day of the Haryana election results. It pointed out that by 10:30am Congress was leading in 65 seats and had started celebrating. But, in an hour, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took over as the ECI slowed down vote counting. "Why did this happen? When Congress was leading everywhere why did speed of vote counting and 'updates' slow?" questioned the Saamana editorial.
Sena echoes Congress's refusal to accept election results
The editorial also echoed Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's statement that the party cannot accept the Haryana election results as they were "totally unexpected" and "against the reality." Ramesh had said, "It goes against what the people in Haryana made their mind up for... under these circumstances, it is not possible for us to accept the results that have been announced today."
Sena questions timing of Ram Rahim's parole release
The Shiv Sena editorial also raised questions over the timing of Ram Rahim's release on parole, six days before the Haryana election. It noted that this was his 10th parole in two years and hinted at a possible connection between his release and BJP's win. The editorial said, "Rahim, who was in jail on rape charges and was released on parole a few days ago, also has a part to play in the BJP's 'victory' in Haryana."
Sena urges Congress to learn from Haryana defeat
The Sena editorial also sharply criticized the Congress, advising its Maharashtra leaders to take lessons from the Haryana loss ahead of their major upcoming challenge. The editorial read, "The people of Maharashtra will not follow the path of Haryana... and the Maha Vikas Aghadi will win." "Marathi public opinion is against (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi...(Home Minister Amit) Shah...Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde. Our alliance will win in Maharashtra...but Congress leaders...have a lot to learn from Haryana," he added.
