Chandigarh, May 30: Haryana Congress chief Bhajan Lal today charged the Election Commission (EC) with adopting partisan attitude in the recently held bypoll to Fatehabad assembly constituency and demanded resignation of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in view of "steep fall" in the votes polled to the ruling candidate. "It seems that the EC was in collusion with Chautala's Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) during the Fatehabad bypoll," Bhajan Lal told a press conference here. He alleged that there were more than ten villages falling in Fatehabad constituency where the polling percentage was recorded more than 90 per cent. "In Sirdhan village the polling percentage was 97.36 per cent. The rule laid down indicates that if the polling percentage was above 90 per cent then EC can order re-poll," he added. Bhajan Lal, who is also former Chief Minister, said that despite the EC being informed about these facts, it is not ready to listen to the Haryana Congress.


"We have written to the EC in this regard and had also met the election observers, but it did not even bother to give a reply," he said. Claiming that after the results the ruling party's victory margin fell from 21,000 in the year 2000 to a meagre 7362 in the bypoll in 2003, he demanded the resignation of Chautala for the "steep fall" in his party's popularity.
Bureau Report