Patna: Leader of opposition in assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Wednesday demanded fresh elections in Bihar and West Bengal, alleging that Election Commission had been misused to favour BJP. His remarks came after a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions relating to voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, changes to Form 6 and electoral-roll management.Addressing the media, Yadav alleged that chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar had curtailed the powers of the two other election commissioners.Election Commission, however, has maintained that all decisions, including those relating to Special Intensive Revision (SIR), were taken with the approval of all three commissioners and that differences expressed during internal deliberations were part of the normal decision-making process.Yadav alleged that the SIR of electoral rolls had been conducted arbitrarily in Bihar, West Bengal and other states and claimed that the exercise had benefited BJP. He alleged that names were intentionally deleted to influence election results, a claim for which he did not provide evidence.He also questioned changes in rules governing the retention of electronic voting machines after election results, alleging that they would make it harder to preserve evidence of purported irregularities. Yadav further questioned the process of appointing CEC, alleging that the role of Chief Justice of India in the selection process had been diluted by govt.Referring to the Bihar assembly election, Yadav alleged that the BJP-led alliance had benefited from the transfer of Rs10,000 into women’s bank accounts on polling day and claimed that EC had ignored the opposition’s objections.
