AJP’s Kunki Chowdhury Lands In Legal Trouble After FIR Filed Over Alleged Violation Of Electoral Rules

Key Points

Assam Jatiya Parishad’s newest (and youngest) bid in the Assam Assembly Election, candidate Kunki Chowdhury, has landed in hot water following her debut. Three members of Chowdhury’s team were detained by police after a case was registered against her and her campaign team for alleged violation of rules during the 48-hour “silent period” before the day of polling, which was held on Thursday, April 9th.

The case was registered at the Panbazar Police Station, according to a complaint filed by Naba Kumar Lahkar, citing irregularities during polling. Kunki, political worker Sandeep Yadav, among others have been named in the case. The FIR alleged that Yadav was present in the constituency during the silence period, even though the electoral rules forbade him from doing so. Further, it was claimed that Kunki was present inside a polling station, engaging with 5-6 individuals in such a manner so as to affect their voting decisions. 

Campaign vehicles were also, supposedly, parked in restrictive polling zones. It was also claimed that her personal security officer was present inside the polling premises without authorisation. The complaint further mentions door-to-door interaction with voters during the silence period, which it describes as campaigning during the prohibited timeframe. The FIR has invoked provisions under the election law and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), citing undue influence and interference in the electoral process. The complainant has submitted video and digital evidence in support of the allegations.

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Chowdhury is the Congress-ally AJP’s candidate from the Guwahati Central constituency. The 27-year-old is the youngest candidate in the fray in the Assam election. She has denied the allegations.

While she had drawn widespread attention as a young poll debutant going up against 70-year-old BJP candidate Vijay Gupta in the Guwahati Central contest, she particularly grabbed headlines when she and her family became the subject of repeated attacks by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Sarma has claimed that her family “insulted Hindus” by purportedly eating beef and sharing photos on social media, and that her mother “openly supported” Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam on social media.

In the early hours of Friday 10th April, after polling closed, Chowdhury issued a statement that three members of her team had been detained following an FIR against her and her team.

Confirming this, Central Guwahati DCP Shambhavi Mishra told The Indian Express that the three individuals were apprehended since they are not locals and “there was a possibility of them leaving the jurisdiction”.

"A complaint was filed alleging serious MCC (Model Code of Conduct) violations. The first is that 48 hours before polling, as per the rule, political functionaries and workers who have been brought from outside the constituency should leave the constituency. But her social media team members, who are from Haryana, were still going around with her, so they have been brought in to the police station to ensure they can’t leave before being questioned. They have not been arrested. The complaint also named the candidate, but since she is a local, she will be brought in for questioning later. The allegation is that she was still in campaigning mode yesterday, and other violations like taking her PSO to polling station areas,” the DCP said on Friday, 10th April.

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In a video statement refuting these claims, Chowdhury said, “We all know how much our BJP government follows democratic norms, we have all been seeing. The day my nomination was filed, we had planned a rally, but I cancelled all our arrangements respecting the SOP and went to file my nomination alone. On the day of polling, too, we strictly followed the election norms and adhered to the norms. Without any evidence, they are lodging these FIRs to harass and intimidate us. I will just say that they are taking these steps because they are scared.”

Further details are pending pertaining to this matter.

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