EC disqualifies Jharkhand Ex-CM Madhu Koda from contesting polls
New Delhi, September 28: The Election Commission of India (EC) on Wednesday disqualified Jharkhand’s former Chief Minister Madhu Koda for not submitting actual election expenditure records which were used in 2009 Assembly polls. He is not liable to contest any election for next three years.
The report submitted to EC by District Election Officer (DEO) on 14th July 2009 stated that Koda has submitted his expenditure reports of Rs. 18,92,353. While on 4th June 2010, EC sent a letter to DEO stating that the report submitted on 14th July 2009 was not in the prescribed format. On 5th August 2010, the report was resubmitted to EC stating Koda’s expenses but he has not submitted any supporting voucher against the incurred expenditure.
After the Investigation by Income Tax (IT) department, Koda found guilty of filing a false expenditure report with the DEO. The expenditure figures which he had submitted was Rs. 18,92,353 while he 9.32 crores on his election campaign of Lok Sabha in 2009. The advertisement expenses were Rs. 28 lakhs against Rs. 2.24 lakhs which he had submitted in the report.
In 2009 election, Madhu Koda was elected as an Independent MP from West Singhbhum constituency. Madhu Koda became the third independent legislator to assume the office of chief minister of an Indian state. Biswanath Das from Orissa in 1971, S. F. Khonglam from Meghalaya in 2002 were the other two independent Legislator. On 14 September 2006, he was sworn in as the fourth Chief Minister of Jharkhand until he resigned on 23 August 2008.