New Delhi: As Congress and Mahagathbandhan trail behind in the counting of votes, Congress leader Pawan Khera on Friday called the Bihar Assembly elections a direct contest between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the people of Bihar.
Speaking to reporters in the national capital, Khera took a jibe at CEC Kumar, saying he has an upper hand over the public in Bihar.
He said, "These are just early trends, we're waiting a bit. The initial trends certainly suggest that Gyanesh Kumar is gaining an upper hand over the people of Bihar. I can't underestimate the people of Bihar. They have shown courage. They showed it despite the SIR and vote theft. The contest is directly between the Election Commission of India and the people of Bihar, and let's see who wins."
"I'm not even talking about parties. I'm talking about a direct, straight contest between CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the people of Bihar. Now, let's see in the coming hours how effective Gyanesh Kumar will be," he added.
Khera's comments come after Congress is reduced to a lead in just seven seats, as per Election Commission data at 11:30 am. This shows a dismal conversion rate of 11.6 per cent. In 2020, Congress had won 19 seats.
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance has crossed the halfway mark of 122 seats, with a lead in 190 constituencies. The BJP was leading on 82 seats while the JD(U) led on 80 seats.
Mahagathbandhan was leading on just 45 seats in total, with the RJD winning on 33 seats.
Earlier today, Congress MP Manickam Tagore also alleged that vote deletion happened for voters who support the opposition, saying that democracy can't survive if the playing field is uneven.
"When you delete 65 lakh voters--mostly from the opposition's voters --what do you expect on result day? Democracy cannot survive if the playing field is tilted before the match even begins," Tagore posted on X.
Counting of votes for all 243 constituencies began at 8 am amid tight security. Officials began tallying postal ballots, with the counting of EVM votes beginning at 8:30 am.
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