Congress' support-base on ventilator, ego on accelerator: Naqvi

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Responding to the Congress' allegations that election officers were threatened and the Election Commission's (EC) website displayed voting details late, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday strongly criticised the party, accusing it of insulting the electorate by questioning the poll panel's authority and transparency.

"The Congress' support base is on a ventilator yet their ego is on the accelerator," remarked the BJP leader.

He stated that instead of introspection, the Congress is driven by ego, making baseless allegations against Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the poll panel.

"When political parties lose elections, they typically reflect on their failures, but the Congress is avoiding such an introspection," he claimed.

He added that the party's ego continues to grow despite defeat, leading it to claim that EVMs, rather than the people, are responsible for its defeat.

The BJP leader further argued that the Congress is more focussed on "power for their family and tower of problems for others."

He criticised the internal disputes within the Congress, noting that party leaders were prematurely announcing their desire to become Chief Minister before the election results were even announced. This overconfidence, he said, was a reflection of the party's internal dysfunction.

He emphasised that in any democracy, the people's opinion must be respected, but the Congress refuses to do so when the poll results do not favour them. Instead, they resort to attacking the EC and EVMs.

The BJP leader suggested that rather than making these allegations, the Congress should focus on identifying the real reasons for their electoral losses and work on improving their party structure.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP, Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday alleged potential administrative pressure on the EC.

The Congress leader took to his social media platform X, stating: "Like the Lok Sabha results, the election trends in Haryana are also being deliberately shared slowly on the Election Commission's website. Is the BJP trying to put pressure on the administration @ECISVEEP?"

The Congress leaders claimed that the EC's website was showing slower updates than the actual vote counting, raising doubts about the "transparency" of the process in Haryana.