Congress Fails to Hold Broad Secular Alliance Against BJP in Bihar: M V Govindan

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI(M) Kerala state secretary M V Govindan said on Saturday that the Congress was unable to keep the broad secular alliance united in Bihar, which contributed to the opposition’s heavy defeat in the Assembly elections.

Addressing reporters here, he said though the primary reason for the defeat of Mahagathbandhan was the "targeted deletion" of votes by the Election Commission through a hurried process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Congress and other secular parties should analyse the other factors behind the poor show and take due course correction.

M V Govindan said that doubts regarding manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines were also reported from multiple places. The BJP government at the Centre, with the support of the Election Commission, effectively sabotaged the election process, he said.

He pointed out that even in his speech after the Bihar results, the prime minister said the government was able to use the Election Commission effectively to conduct elections. Govindan said this statement itself revealed the central government’s intent to misuse the Commission for political advantage.

He added that the EC ignored the opposition’s strong protest against the Bihar government’s announcement of a cash transfer of 10,000 rupees to women during the period when the election code of conduct was in force.

M V Govindan charged that the Bihar government and the Centre misused the Election Commission’s machinery, spread communal propaganda, and spent massive amounts of money to secure the election victory.