BJP leader Manpreet Singh Badal
Credit: PTI Photo
Chandigarh: The Election Commission has issued notices to Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and BJP leader Manpreet Singh Badal for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct.
The Gidderbaha returning officer in Muktsar issued the notices, asking the leaders to submit their replies, said an official.
Ludhiana MP Warring was served the notice a day after the BJP filed a complaint with the ECI, seeking registration of an FIR against him for holding a meeting at a mosque in Gidderbaha and appealing the gathering to vote for his wife Amrita Warring, who is contesting the bypoll from the Gidderbaha assembly seat.
The BJP alleged Raja Warring violated the Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988.
Manpreet Singh Badal, the BJP candidate from the Gidderbaha assembly segment was also issued a notice after a video of him went viral on social media, with rival parties alleging the clip shows he is telling youths he would influence recruitment process to get them jobs.
The Gidderbaha seat fell vacant after Raja Warring, who was a Congress MLA, was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Ludhiana seat in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
The bypolls to four assembly seats -- Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal and Barnala -- will take place on November 20 and the votes will be counted on November 23.