Raut calls ECI ‘BJP branch’ after election body initiates action against Uddhav

Mumbai: On the eve of announcement of Lok Sabha election results, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said the PM candidate of the opposition INDIA bloc will be announced within 24 hours of the poll outcome being declared. He also slammed the Election Commission of India’s decision to initiate action against Thackeray calling the poll agency a ‘BJP branch.’

Counting of votes nationwide for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls, which ended on June 1, will take place from 8 am on Tuesday.

When asked about the PM candidate of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), Raut said, “Narendra Modi will not be a Prime Minister again. BJP will not come back to power. Only the India bloc will win.”

“Within 24 hours after the victory, we will announce our prime ministerial candidate. All the leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc will meet in Delhi and the announcement will be made there,” Raut added. The Congress-led INDIA bloc comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT) and several opposition parties across the country.

The Rajya Sabha MP criticised the ECI calling it a ‘BJP branch.’ Reacting to the ECI’s decision to initiate action against Thackeray for casting aspersions on the election body on May 20 and trying to influence the voters while the voting was still on, Raut said the action once again proves that the ECI is acting at the behest of the BJP.

Raut slammed the ECI for allegedly ignoring complaints from opposition parties about poll irregularities and model code of conduct violations, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah allegedly seeking votes in the name of ‘Ram Lalla.’ “The Shiv Sena has sent 17 complaints to the ECl, but it has not even acknowledged any of the complaints, but it has acted swiftly on the BJP’s complaint,” he added.

Taking a swipe at the PM’s 45-hour ‘dhyan’ programme at the Vivekanand Rock Memorial in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari, Raut asked, “Like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is the ECI also meditating,”

Amid all exit polls predicting a comprehensive win for the BJP-led NDA and a third term as PM for Modi, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader took a jibe at the BJP and said it can prepare ‘ladoos and fafdas’ for victory celebrations but the “people will celebrate the defeat of the ruling party.”