Amid the controversy surrounding the marital status of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has informed that the matter is still under its consideration.

Also, the Commission is looking at the recent alleged hate speech by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region.

Chief Election Commissioner, V S Sampat, has said that he is in the knowledge of the alleged communal speech by the VHP leader and that the matter is under police investigation.

However, a top-level EC official has said that the Commission has sought the tapes wherein Togadia has allegedly appealed to Hindus to remove Muslims from their residential areas.

Sampat is on a visit to Gujarat as part of the routine review of election preparedness. Polling will take place on April 30 in a single-phase in the state.

Modi's affidavit

Responding to a query about the status of the complaint filed by the Congress in New Delhi regarding Modi's affidavit, where he made the first-ever revelation of his wife's name, Sampat said: "The matter is under the consideration of the commission." He did not give further details.

On April 11, the Congress unit in Delhi had filed a complaint about Modi's affidavit, which he had filed for Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency on April 9. The Congress had alleged that Modi had not mentioned his wife’s name in his previous affidavits while contesting the Assembly polls in Gujarat.

Also, Sampat held meetings with political parties and the authorities concerned, including the chief secretary of the state and police authorities, earlier on Monday.

As per the final figures, the state has a total number of electorate of 4.02 crore, including 2.12 crore male and 1.94 crore female. It 45,380 polling booths, of which 10,775 have been declared critical, where special attention will be given.

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