New Delhi: Aiming to address the common complaint of alleged bogus voters, 4,123 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are holding all-party meetings to resolve any pending polling booth level issues as part of a drive initiated by the Election Commission of India, an official said on Saturday.
The meetings have started with the participation of national/state level political parties and the entire exercise is targeted to be completed in each Assembly constituency, district and state/UT by March 31, the official said in a statement.
This grassroots-level engagement has been welcomed by political parties, with their active and enthusiastic participation in meetings across states/UTs, it said.
The ECI said all 788 District Election Officers (DEOs) and 36 CEOs of all 28 states and 8 UTs at the State/UT levels have also been directed to hold such meetings to resolve any pending issues at the district and State/UT levels respectively, within the legal framework of the Representation of People Act 1950 and 1951, Registration of Elector Rules 1960, Conduct of Election Rules 1961 and the manuals, guidelines and instructions issued by ECI from time to time.
The on-going interaction with political parties is in line with the directions of CEC Gyanesh Kumar who, along with ECs Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi, had unveiled the plan during the conference of CEOs of all states/UTs and one DEO and ERO from each state on March 4 in Delhi.
Political parties and their authorised representatives such as Booth Level Agents (BLAs), Polling Agents, Counting Agents and Election Agents have specific roles to play in various electoral processes including the conduct of elections, the statement said.
Earlier, the Commission appealed to all the national/state political parties to avail this grassroot level engagement with electoral authorities for resolving any pending issue in a time-bound manner.
The exercise comes close to a 10-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress MPs meeting the ECI on the issue of the bogus voters in West Bengal and raising questions on the duplicate EPIC numbers allegedly in use in different states.
The delegation, consisting of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members of Trinamool Congress, submitted a memorandum to the ECI seeking the exact number of EPIC cards with duplicate numbers prevailing in the country and their state-wise breakup.
Over 7.5 crore voters in West Bengal are likely to pick 294 new legislators around April-May next year. In the 2021 Assembly polls, the Trinamool Congress won 215 seats in the House with 148 as the majority mark.
(IANS)
