BENGALURU: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and election commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel on Thursday reviewed preparations for the 2023 assembly elections in the state. The CEC and top officers from the Election Commission of India (ECI) held separate meetings with representatives of political parties at Vikas Soudha.
The CEC and election commissioners are on a three-day visit to the state. The Congress and BJP delegations gave several suggestions to the ECI for holding free and fair elections. They urged the Commission to conduct elections in a single phase instead of two phases.
“We urged the Commission to immediately notify the elections and enforce model code of conduct to prevent inducements by ministers and others,” senior Congress leader and former MP V S Ugrappa, who attended the meeting, said.
He said elections should be held in a single phase to avoid misuse of powers by central and state ministers. He alleged that 33 lakh voters’ names have been deleted from the voters’ list. Steps should be taken to include them. During the meeting, the Congress demanded that the ECI act on the report by the Regional Commissioner of Bengaluru, who conducted a probe into the alleged tampering of the voters’ list by “Chilume” NGO.
The Congress also urged the Commission to ensure that the EVMs used in Gujarat and UP elections are not used in the state and officers working in the same place, including the CEO’s office, for over three years transferred elsewhere.
Misuse of social media a concern for Congress
The party expressed concern over the distribution of TV sets, pressure cookers, sarees and other gifts and misuse of social media and urged the Commission to take action and direct the government not to invite tenders for development projects as there are allegations of corruption.
The ruling BJP urged the Commission to hold elections in a single phase and take action against unrealistic pre-poll promises by some parties.
Senior BJP leader and former MLC Ashwathnarayan Gowda said the party urged the Commission to identify sensitive and hypersensitive booths and tighten security there. The BJP delegation appealed to the Commission to shift officers working in the same place for many years.
The officers reviewed the Police Department’s preparedness for polls and held a review meeting with Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena. Several suggestions and directions were given to him by the Commission. On Friday, the Commission will hold a meeting with district election officials and superintendents of police.