Congress Assam election in-charge Bhanwar Jitendra Singh on Saturday expressed confidence that the party would win in state Assembly elections, claiming that the people's trust was shifting towards Congress due to issues such as "corruption" and "mafia raj." Speaking to ANI, he also dismissed exit poll projections, alleging they have consistently been inaccurate. "There is a very positive sign that we will win this election on the basis of the people's trust on us. They have various issues like corruption, mafia raj that is running... Exit polls are all wrong, they predicted 400+ seats for BJP in Lok Sabha while in reality, they could not even reach 250 seats," Singh said.
On the issue of repolling in West Bengal, Singh launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission, alleging a lack of confidence in the poll body and accusing it of favouring the ruling BJP. "Not only among the political parties, but there is also no overall confidence in the ECI. They are working as a part and parcel of the BJP. The former CM is here, and we will monitor the situation here and see that the counting is fair," he said.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel said that party leaders were holding organisational meetings with candidates and senior leadership. "Today, there is a meeting with our candidates along with the DK Shivakumar, state leadership here...," Baghel said.
He also dismissed exit polls, calling them repetitive and unreliable. "Exit polls are a copy-paste of the one in December and they never turn out to be correct...," he said. On repolling in West Bengal, Baghel maintained that the party remained alert throughout the process. "We have been vigilant from the beginning, and for that very reason, no irregularities could happen...," he added.
Earlier today, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar said that he was visiting Assam to "protect MLAs" from defection after the Legislative Assembly election results on May 4.
DK Shivakumar told ANI in Guwahati, "I am here to protect my MLAs, guide the MLAs and help the party. They are safe today and tomorrow."
DK Shivakumar and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel arrived in Assam to meet Congress candidates ahead of the counting of votes. The Karnataka Deputy CM is a known face in Congress for hotel politics to protect MLAs from defection. The counting of votes will take place on May 4. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
