Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh guilty of poll code violation over 'Modi win' remark: Report

Rajasthan Governor Kalyan’s March 23 remark where he had talked about Narendra Modi’s return as Prime Minister has landed him in controversy. Latest media reports say that the Election Commission is likely to write to President Ramnath Kovind against the Governor over poll code violation. On March 23, Singh had said on camera, “Hum sabhi log BJP ke karyakarta hai aur iss naatey se hum zaroor chahengey ke BJP vijai ho. Sab chahengey ek baar phir sey kendra mein Modiji pradhanmantri banein. Modiji ka pradhanmantri banna ye desh ke liye avashyak hai, samaaj ke liye avashyak hai (We are all BJP workers, so we will want the BJP to win. Everyone will want Modi to become PM again. Modi becoming PM is necessary for the nation and society).” 

Addressing BJP workers at his Aligarh residence on March 23, Singh had reportedly said, "All of us are BJP workers and we want the party to win. We want Modiji to become the prime minister." Singh, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, reportedly made these remarks to placate some agitated BJP members who had gathered outside his house over ticket distribution.

After that, the Aligarh district magistrate on March 30 had submitted "evidence" to the Election Commission regarding Singh's reported remarks supporting the return of Narendra Modi as prime minister.

The Election Commission had examined his reported remarks in the light of possible violation of the Model Code of Conduct, as holding a constitutional post makes the Governor "apolitical". According to the PTI report, the details and clip of the comments were submitted to the Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Friday last week.

In the 1990s, the Election Commission had expressed displeasure over Himachal Pradesh Governor Gulsher Ahmed campaigning for his son in elections. He had later quit.  

The Election Commission declared the schedule for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on March 10. The Lok Sabha Elections 2019 will be held in seven phases, starting from April 11. The results will be declared on May 23. The Election Commission said 91 constituencies will go for polls in the first phase on April 11, followed by 97 constituencies in the second phase on April 18. The second phase will be held on April 18, third on April 23 and fourth on April 29, fifth on May 6, sixth on May 12 and seventh phase on May 19. In the first phase, 91 constituencies will go for polls, 97 constituencies in the second phase, 115 constituencies in the third, 71 in the fourth phase, 51 in the fifth phase, 59 in the sixth phase and 59 in the seventh phase.