Ensure postal ballots counted first, guidelines followed: INDIA bloc to EC

New Delhi: A delegation from the INDIA Opposition bloc met with the full bench of the Election Commission on Sunday, urging strict adherence to guidelines for the vote count on June 4, including announcing postal-ballot results before those from electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, briefing the media after the meeting, highlighted that this was the third time Opposition leaders had visited the Election Commission during the general election. Among their concerns was the importance of counting and announcing postal ballot results first, as stipulated by statutory rules.

“This is the third multi-party delegation to visit the EC during this process. We emphasised two or three major issues, the most crucial being the priority given to postal ballots. The law clearly states that postal ballots should be counted first,” Singhvi stated. “Our complaint is that this guideline is being ignored,” he added.

Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) requested that the Election Commission instruct officials to follow these guidelines.

Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), stressed the importance of implementing these guidelines, including ensuring that EVM control units are transported through CCTV-monitored corridors and verifying the current date-and-time display on the units. “Verification is crucial to confirm the authenticity of the control unit, ensuring it hasn’t been swapped from the polling booth,” he said.

Yechury also emphasised the need to check the start and end times and dates on the control unit. “The slips and tags used when an EVM is sealed should be shown to all counting agents for verification. Additionally, after pressing the button for results, the poll date must be reconfirmed,” he stated.

On Saturday, senior leaders of the INDIA bloc met to strategize for the counting day, though the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) did not attend.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who led the deliberations, indicated that they would meet with Election Commission officials on Sunday to discuss specific concerns.

The Opposition parties have instructed their agents to closely monitor the vote-counting process on Tuesday and ensure that form 17C, which records the number of votes at each polling station, is shared with them.