Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has issued summons in response to an election petition filed by Congress candidate contesting the results of the 2024 General Elections for the Karimganj (Parliamentary) Constituency in Assam.
The petition filed by Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, challenging the No. 7 Karimganj House of the People (Parliamentary) Constituency general election result was heard on Monday by Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi.
Kripanath Mallah, the BJP candidate, was declared the winner by a narrow margin of 1.6% votes over the Congress candidate. H.R.A. Choudhury, a Senior Advocate, has alleged multiple instances of ‘corrupt practices’ by the BJP candidate during the campaign and on election day.
These allegations include widespread rigging, booth capturing, voter intimidation, and bribery, leading the petitioner to seek the election results to be declared null and void.
The petitioner’s legal team, led by Convenor Gautam Choudhury, reported continuous complaints to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on polling day via email. These complaints detailed specific instances of rigging and booth capturing across 20 polling stations. Additionally, the petitioner’s election agent submitted a complaint on polling day, detailing malpractices in 31 specific polling stations. The petition alleged booth capturing across 47 polling stations, nearly doubling the vote margin between the two candidates.
Further, the petition raised concerns about the integrity of the voting process, noting discrepancies in voter turnout data. The ECI stated that 11,36,538 votes were polled, which, after adding postal ballots, totaled 11,43,796 votes. However, on counting day, the total number of votes counted was 11,47,607, resulting in an unexplained additional 3,811 votes.
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Senior Counsel KP Pathak appeared for the petitioner, assisted by Mrinmoy Dutta, A.M. Ahmed, Mustafa Khaddam, Imran Uddin Chowdhury, and M.A. Choudhury. The High Court issued summons to the respondents and scheduled the next hearing for August 19, emphasising the need to resolve the matter promptly.
The election petition was filed through the office of Advocate M. Dutta, A.M. Ahmed, M.K. Hussain, with assistance from Delhi-based Advocate Dayaar Singla.
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