Kunki Chowdhury, who contested the April 9 Assam elections from the Guwahati Central seat as a candidate of the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), appeared before the police on Sunday after an FIR was lodged against her for alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
Speaking to the media after her deposition, she dismissed the allegations of violating the MCC on polling day.
“I gave my statement before the police. I have complete faith in the system that the matter will be investigated properly. It was a false allegation that I violated the MCC,” the 27-year-old said.
A city resident, Naba Kumar Lahkar, had filed the FIR alleging that Kunki and her party worker Sandeep Yadav engaged in “unlawful activities” at a polling booth. Police registered a case under various sections of the BNS and the Representation of the People Act. Three members of her social media team were detained but later released.
Kunki also expressed concern over the delay in police action on a separate FIR she had filed with the crime branch regarding a “deepfake” social media video allegedly aimed at tarnishing her image ahead of the elections.
“No action has been taken so far. They said they are working on it. I don’t know why they are taking so much time,” she said.
The AJP condemned what it described as police “harassment” of Kunki and lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam.
The party alleged that Kunki, along with its workers and supporters in various constituencies, had been subjected to harassment, calling it politically motivated and an act of vendetta.
On the charges against her, the AJP stated that a candidate has the right to enter polling stations as per election rules, and termed the allegations of MCC violation as baseless.
Kunki contested against BJP’s Vijay Kumar Gupta. During the campaign, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had targeted her, claiming her mother consumed beef - an allegation she strongly denied.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota assured action against violations of the MCC and incidents of post-poll violence.
Responding to a complaint from Assam Congress media department head Bedabrata Bora, Kota wrote on X that any MCC violations or post-poll violence had been dealt with firmly as per law, and that the approach would continue.