'The Poll Body Must Count Postal Ballots First': I.N.D.I.A Bloc After Its Leaders Meet EC

Congress leaders from several key states expressed confidence in the party's performance, suggesting that the I.N.D.I.A bloc would form the next government. The results are to be declared on June 4.

Leaders of the I.N.D.I.A bloc held a meeting with the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday to address issues surrounding the ongoing electoral process. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, after the meeting, emphasised the importance of counting postal ballots first during a press conference. It is to be noted that a BJP delegation, including Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, also held a meeting with the poll body. 

"This is the third multi-party delegation that went to the Election Commission during this entire election process. We came here with many issues, the most important of them was the postal ballot counting and declaring its result first," Singhvi told reporters.

"The statutory rule of the Election Commission clearly says that postal ballots should be dealt with first, and their results will be declared ahead of EVM results. The Election Commission has repealed this practice, and this is a very grave and clear violation of the statutory rule. It is therefore vital that the spirit that underlies Rule 54 (a), which cannot be amended or repealed, must be followed," he added. 

CPI General Secretary D Raja commented on exit polls, saying, "These are all exit polls. If people should go by exit polls, then there should not be any counting on June 4. Verdict will be known only after counting. Let us wait". 

Congress leaders from several key states expressed confidence in the party's performance, suggesting that the I.N.D.I.A bloc would form the next government. Leaders from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,  Punjab, Jharkhand, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Gujarat asserted that the Congress would outperform exit poll predictions. 

During an online interaction with Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, state leaders and Pradesh Congress Committee presidents shared their optimism, a PTI report said. 

As per the PTI report, the unusual interaction occurred a day after exit polls predicted a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the BJP-led NDA expected to secure a significant majority. ABP-C Voter predicted 353-383 seats for the NDA and 152-182 for the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, while India Today-Axis My India forecasted 361-401 seats for the ruling alliance and 131-166 for the opposition. 

BJP Delegation Meet ECI

After meeting the poll body, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, "Today a delegation of BJP led by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners to demand and urge them to take 4 important steps."

"One is that we have requested EC every official engaged in the counting process be fully conversant with the minutest details of the prescribed process and engage diligently with all EC protocols...second, to ensure safety and security of the electoral process during the counting and announcement of results...third, to take cognisance of the systematic attempts to undermine the electoral process and take stringent action against those responsible," he added. 

"We had to call upon ECI today, in light of the repeated attempts by a section of the political parties led by the Indian National Congress and their INDI alliance partners and certain motivated civil society groups and NGOs who are trying their level best to undermine the integrity of India's electoral process. Their efforts against India's robust electoral process are a direct attack on our democratic institutions," Goyal told reporters.

The results of the Lok Sabha elections are to be declared on June 4.