JAIPUR: Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday accused the ruling BJP of unethical conduct in the urban local body elections, alleging misuse of police, administration and money power in the election of mayors and chairpersons.
As the civic election process concluded in the state on Saturday, Gehlot congratulated all newly elected councillors, mayors, chairpersons, deputy mayors and deputy chairpersons and expressed hope that the ruling and opposition sides would work together to address people's problems.
"After Independence, this is the first time that such misuse of power and money has been witnessed in these elections in Rajasthan. It is worrying and painful," he said.
However, he alleged that the BJP had manipulated the delimitation of wards to its advantage before the elections.
"Congress-supporting areas comprising three or four wards were merged into one, while BJP-supporting areas were divided into two or three wards," Gehlot alleged in a social media post.
He claimed that the delimitation exercise was carried out in such a manner that even votes of husbands and wives and members of the same family living in one house were placed in different wards.
Gehlot also accused the government of delaying the elections and alleged that police, administration and money power were misused during the elections for mayors and chairpersons.
He claimed that Congress received more votes at several places but ended up with fewer councillors because of improper delimitation.
Gehlot said that the manner in which the elections were conducted was also a matter of concern for voters, particularly young people who voted for the first time.
He congratulated all Congress representatives elected in the civic polls and thanked party workers and voters.
Gehlot also asked Congress workers to prepare for the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections and said the party would contest them strongly against the BJP.