EC kicks off meetings with BSP, Mayawati seeks 100% VVPAT count

BSP sources said besides demanding 100% counting of VVPAT slips Mayawati pressed for making the process of expenditure monitoring during the polls easier for the candidates. This marked the first time that the BSP supremo met the EC, sources said.

During the meeting, the BSP leaders also expressed concern over the “opinion polls before the elections showing public support in favour of any particular party or against any other party”, sources said, adding that they also urged the EC to ensure that the electoral rolls are “completely error-free”.

The EC’s existing rules stipulate the counting of all VVPAT slips of 5 randomly selected polling booths per Assembly constituency or segment in any Assembly or Lok Sabha elections.

The EC is set to interact with the leaders from all national parties in the coming days, with its next meeting slated to take place with BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday, sources said.

In a statement after its meeting with Mayawati, the EC said: “In continuation of the Election Commission of India’s emphasis on fostering greater and regular engagement with different stakeholders, ECI has initiated interactions with national and state political parties. These interactions would provide a long-felt need of constructive discussions which enable national and state party presidents to share their suggestions and concerns directly with the Commission.”

The Opposition INDIA bloc had on December 19, 2023 passed a resolution demanding 100% counting of VVPAT slips in view of alleged “doubts” surrounding the integrity of EVMs.
In its verdict on April 26, 2024, the Supreme Court rejected the demand for 100% verification of VVPAT slips. The apex court’s judgment came on a plea filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

In its submission to the court then, the EC had opposed the plea, citing the time taken for counting of slips after the votes are counted, which it said would delay the declaration of results.

Mayawati has not been an ally of the INDIA bloc, but she has also been calling for replacing EVMs with ballot papers for conduct of the elections following her party’s second consecutive defeat in the 2017 UP polls. The BSP was routed in the 2022 UP polls too, winning just one seat out of 403 seats.

Speaking to reporters on her birthday on January 15, 2023, Mayawati alleged discrepancies in the EVMs as the reason behind her party’s poll debacles. She had then demanded holding all elections on ballot papers only.

“The BSP’s vote share and the number of seats were steadily increasing till the elections were conducted using ballot papers. After the machines replaced ballot papers in the elections, our vote percentage and number (of seats) have been affected. Certainly, there is some discrepancy which started with the use of EVMs in the elections. It is also affecting our janadhar (vote base),” Mayawati had then said, adding that every vote and VVPAT slip should be tallied.

About two weeks after Gyanesh Kumar took charge as the CEC in February this year, he directed the EC officials, while addressing a conference of the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) on March 4, to be “approachable and responsive to political parties” and hold all party meetings at all statutory levels by March 31.

On March 11, the EC wrote to all national and state parties, asking for suggestions on any “unresolved issues” at the level of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), District Election Officers (DEOs) and CEOs and inviting their presidents for interactions.

The EC’s letter came after several INDIA parties, including the Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC), making allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls in different parts of the country.

Apart from the BSP, the BJP, Congress, AAP, CPI (M) and National Peoples’ Party are the other national parties recognised by the EC. There are about 50 recognised state parties.

After its Tuesday interaction with the BSP delegation, the EC said: “This initiative aligns with the Commission’s broader vision of further strengthening the electoral process in accordance with the existing legal framework with all stakeholders.”

Since the appointment of the new CEC, a total of 4,719 all-party meetings have been conducted by the EC officials so far, including 40 meetings by CEOs, 800 by DEOs, and 3,879 by EROs engaging over 28,000 representatives of various parties, according to the poll body.