Lok Sabha polls 2014: Election Commission may not act on complaints against Narendra Modi's Varanasi roadshow

NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi’s extraordinary show of strength during his roadshow in Varanasi might have left his political opponents unhappy, but it’s unlikely that the Election Commission will act on their complaints, said senior officials.

BJP’s prime ministerial candidate filed his nomination from Varanasi last week, which was preceded by a 2-km roadshow. Congress, subsequently, lodged a formal complaint with EC over the fact that Modi’s campaign was aired even in states which went to poll on that day. This, the party said, violated rules of campaigning. AAP, on the other hand, alleged Modi spent Rs 6 crore on the affair and hence violated the expenditure limit.

The state election office and the ECI are apparently not convinced. Senior EC officials as well state election officers, who spoke to ET on condition of anonymity, said that no action can be initiated against Modi for two reasons. “Technically, Modi did nothing wrong by filing his nomination on April 24. We cannot hold him responsible for TV channels airing it in state which went to poll on that day,” said an EC officer.
“Secondly, as far as the expenditure complaint is concerned, the roadshow preceding the nomination would be added to the party’s expenditure account and not to Modi’s because a candidate’s expenditure, as per rules, is tabulated only after the nomination. There is no limit to how much the party can spend in an election,” said a state election officer, who did not wish to be identified.