Curious Case of BJP's Amit Malviya Announcing Karnataka Poll Dates Before EC

New Delhi: Even as the Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat was holding a press conference to announce the Karnataka Assembly election dates, the BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya had already outed the dates on Twitter.

However, Malviya got the date of results wrong. When asked on Twitter by fellow journalists as to how he had access to the dates before the EC announcement, Malviya pointed them in the direction of certain news channels and said the information was already public.

As the news of his tweet picked up, Malviya deleted his tweet announcing the election dates.

Curiously, even Karnataka Congress social media in-charge Srivatsa had tweeted out the dates before the EC did.

Journalists gathered at the EC office in New Delhi, where the press conference was underway, raised the matter with CEC Rawat, questioning how a political party had access to news before the official announcement.

“We will find out what happened and a full investigation will be launched. Let us not speculate on what they have,” Rawat said.

Assuring journalists that the matter will not be taken lightly, Rawat promised “appropriate action”.

“Certain things may have leaked for which Election Commission will take appropriate action. It will be investigated. Be assured that actions legally and administratively befitting will be taken.”

Reacting to Malviya’s tweet, Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted: “BJP becomes the ‘Super Election Commission’ as they announce poll dates for Karnataka even before the EC. Credibility of EC is on test. Will EC now issue notice to BJP President, Amit Shah & register an FIR against BJP IT Head for leaking EC’s confidential information?”