Congress lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that the party shared a deceptive advertisement on social media that included inaccurate details about the leaders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Indian National Congress (INC), and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The Congress asserted that the advertisement breached the model code of conduct and various electoral regulations. It was claimed that the heads of the JMM, INC, and RJD were being “depicted in a misleading and untrue manner,” aiming to “spread false and unfounded stories” about them. The grievance explicitly referred to an ad shared on Facebook on November 9, 2024. The Congress asserted that the advertisement constituted a serious breach of the model code of conduct and additional electoral regulations.
The grievance outlines, “We are reaching out to you about an ad released by the official Facebook account of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for Jharkhand, namely. “BJP for Jharkhand.” At first glance, the advertisement released by the BJP 4 Jharkhand page significantly breaches the Model Code of Conduct and various electoral regulations.
The advertisement in question, released on November 9, contains untrue claims and assertions about the leaders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Indian National Congress (INC), and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Furthermore, the leaders are being depicted in a misleading and unfavorable manner, primarily to promote untrue and unfounded stories about them.
“In this ad, the BJP previously attempted to employ actors who looked like the leaders of JMM, Congress, and RJD.” Consequently, the ad aims to level numerous unfounded accusations against the heads of JMM, Congress, and RJD. One claim is that these leaders are anti-tribal but are uniting under the pretense of being pro-tribal to achieve their own personal goals. “A segment of the advertisement is included herewith and labeled as Annexure-A,” stated the complaint.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary responsible for communications, tweeted a copy of a four-page complaint letter, stating, “A complaint has been filed with the Election Commission regarding a highly offensive advertisement officially issued by the BJP concerning Jharkhand.” This not only clearly and openly breaches the Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct, but it is also a grave criminal offense. “The Congress leader stated in a post, ‘We expect the Election Commission to act swiftly and bring this issue to a rightful resolution.'” Elections for the 81-seat Jharkhand Assembly are set to occur in two phases on November 13 and 20, with results to be announced on November 23.