During the ongoing assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, both the BJP and Congress have filed complaints against each other. In response, the Election Commission of India (ECI) sent separate letters on Saturday to BJP President JP Nadda and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, asking for their responses to the complaints made by the other party.

The Election Commission shared the complaints between the two parties and asked them to respond by 1 pm on Monday, November 18. The Election Commission (EC) reminded party leaders of an advisory issued on May 22, 2024, during the Lok Sabha Elections. The advisory urged them to ensure that campaigners and leaders maintain public decorum and strictly follow the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during election campaigns. The EC took this action after both major parties, BJP and Congress, filed complaints against each other during the ongoing state assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

Rahul Gandhi, a member of the Congress, was the target of a complaint from the BJP to the electoral commission for "false" remarks he made in speeches. The BJP declared, “… Gandhi’s’ speech was full of falsehood and lies, intending to create disaffection, enmity and ill-will between the states of the Union of India… Gandhi with his misleading statement has tried to create a divide between the people of Maharashtra and Gujarat and other states." The saffron camp also insisted that Gandhi and Kharge be charged with false statements.

“It is stated that Shri Rahul Gandhi has made totally unverified claims and has distorted the truth by stating that Apple’s iPhones and Boeing’s airplanes are being manufactured in other states of the country at the expense of the State of Maharashtra. Through his statements, Shri Rahul Gandhi has falsely accused other states of stealing and snatching alleged opportunities from the State Maharashtra," the letter from BJP leaders had said. Gandhi's remarks, the party added, are inciting Maharashtra's youth, "which is immensely dangerous for the unity and integrity of the nation."

Rahul Gandhi was accused by the party of lying to "create differences between two states" and making misleading assertions regarding the Indian Constitution in Maharashtra, which was up for election, in a complaint that was submitted earlier this week to the Election Commission of India. Gandhi has committed "gross violation of electoral laws, model code of conduct (MCC), and criminal law," according to the BJP's complaint to the Election Commission, which cited a speech he gave on November 6.

The Congress MP was accused by the BJP of attempting to "incite" the state's young by claiming that all plum projects were being redirected from Maharashtra to Gujarat, which is "immensely dangerous for the unity and integrity of the nation." The BJP has accused some Muslim organisations of trying to influence elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand by urging their community members to vote for the INDIA bloc based on religion. Meanwhile, the Congress has filed complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote to the Election Commission, claiming that PM Modi made false allegations about the Congress leadership, stating that the party was against the interests of the ST, SC, and OBC communities.

“In his statements, Shri Narendra Modi levelled allegations against prominent leaders of the INC and former Prime Ministers namely Late Jawaharlal Nehru, Late Indira Gandhi and Late Rajiv Gandhi. Mr Modi alleged that the INC leaders were opposed to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities and Other Backward Classes (OBC)," read the letter. “The tone and tenor of the entire speech is further evidence of the speaker’s intention to create and spread religious and caste-based animosity," said Ramesh in the letter. The Congress representative then enumerated PM Modi's previous remarks, including the one about Article 370.

“The invocation of caste references by the BJP star campaigner to gain political mileage is clearly in furtherance of the BJP’s vitriolic and inciteful campaign intended to; (a) promote enmity between communities; (b) tarnish and malign the reputation of the INC and its senior leadership; and (c) mislead the general public, instigating them to oppose the INC for being against members of the SC, ST, and OBC communities," Ramesh said.  The Congress party filed a complaint with the Election Commission (ECI) regarding a BJP advertisement that targeted leaders from the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance. They claimed the ad contained false accusations and statements that unfairly portrayed the alliance leaders in a negative light, with the aim of spreading misleading narratives.

The Congress argued that under the Model Code of Conduct, no political party, leader, or candidate should use false information to attack their opponents during campaigns, as this goes against the rules. Additionally, Congress raised another complaint about the grounding of Rahul Gandhi's helicopter in poll-bound Jharkhand. They claimed that restrictions on his helicopter prevented it from taking off, causing delays or cancellations of his public meetings. Jairam Ramesh urged the ECI to step in and ensure a fair campaign for all parties.