"First count postal ballots": INDIA bloc urges Election Commission

New Delhi [India], June 2 : A delegation of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc leaders met with the Election Commission of India to discuss issues related to the counting of votes.
In their meeting with the poll body, the INDIA bloc said that ECI should clear, detailed guidelines for the counting process on June 4.
Other demands, as stated by INDIA bloc, were clarification on counting postal ballots first as per Conduct of Election Rules 1961, ensuring CCTV-monitored safe movement of Control Units, verify date/time on Control Units and confirm voting start/end times, specify slips, tags, and details for counting agents; Display poll date, candidates, and total votes before candidate-wise results and avoid rushing; allow agents to record results before proceeding. Strengthen transparency and faith in the electoral process.
Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "The vital importance of counting postal ballots first, and declaring the results of postal ballots first. This is very clearly stated in the statutory rule. This has been understood by the Election Commission over the years. Our complaint is that this statutory rule of this 2019 guideline has been given goodbye. The Election Commission has repealed this 2019 practice. The net result is that by method of practice, EVMs can be counted and if EVMs counting gets over before the postal ballot, it will still be completed. In other words, the postal ballot counting and results need not be declared first. This is the main complaint."
Singhvi said that ECI heard them patiently. "We are awaiting strong action," he said.
Sitaram Yechury also said that postal ballots should be counted first on the counting day.
"The demands were that until the 2019 election, the procedure and the law were that first the postal ballots would be counted and announced, and after that, the EVM counting would begin. We are saying that it should be followed," Yechury told ANI.
After the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections concluded on Saturday, marking the end of the world's largest polling exercise that began on April 19, Congress leader Ajay Maken flagged the new rule that candidates' counting agents are not allowed at the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) tables during the vote counting process on June 4.
Calling it an issue "bigger than the alleged EVM rigging," the Congress leader urged the Election Commission of India to address it."Candidate's Counting Agents' at the ARO table are NOT being allowed for the first time!!! I have contested 9 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in the past- And this is happening for the first time. If true, this is bigger than the alleged EVM rigging! I am flagging this issue for all candidates! I hope @ECISVEEP rectifies it soon," Maken posted on X.
However, the Chief Election Officer of Delhi clarified that the counting agents of candidates are allowed at the tables of RO and AROs."It is clarified that Counting Agents of Candidates are allowed at the tables of RO/AROs," the Chief Election Officer, Delhi Office posted on X.
The voting for the marathon seven-phase polling process for the Lok Sabha elections, which began on April 19, came to an end on Saturday (June 1).
The seventh and final phase of polling for Lok Sabha elections on June 1 across seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh saw an approximate voter turnout of 62.36 per cent as per the latest trends, the Election Commission (ECI) said on Saturday.
The exit polls predicted that the ruling BJP-led NDA is poised to improve its performance over its 2019 record when it won 352 seats. Two polls predicted the BJP also improving its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.The Narendra Modi-led BJP is seeking a third term in power, while the opposition INDIA bloc is aiming to wrest power by stopping the juggernaut.