Poll officials targeting opposition leaders, alleges Congress

Opposition leaders are being targeted by poll officials, the Congress alleged on Sunday, 12 May, claiming that while its chief Mallikarjun Kharge's helicopter was checked in Bihar's Samastipur, leaders of the BJP-led NDA were being allowed to move "freely".

Kharge on Saturday addressed back-to-back Lok Sabha election rallies in Samastipur and Muzaffarpur in the state.

"Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's helicopter was checked in Kerala and, now, party president Kharge's has been checked in Bihar's Samastipur," Congress leader Rajesh Rathorre claimed in a video message on X.

Rathorre, who is the chief spokesperson of the Congress' Bihar unit, also shared a video to claim that the chief electoral officer of Bihar is herself monitoring the checking of Kharge's helicopter in Samastipur.

The video showed a helicopter with officials, including from police, around it.

"The Election Commission (EC) should clarify whether such checking of choppers of Congress leaders is routine and whether similar checks were also conducted on top leaders of the NDA," Rathorre said in his video message.

"The EC should make all such records public, otherwise it will be construed that it is only targeting opposition leaders to stop them, and is letting NDA leaders go freely," he said.

The Congress spokesperson said the EC should put out videos of all leaders who have been checked.