Cong undermining electoral process, alleges BJP, urges EC to take action

The Congress and other INDIA bloc constituents as well as certain civil society groups are trying to undermine the integrity of India's electoral process, the BJP alleged on Sunday and urged the Election Commission to prevent any attempts of "violence and unrest" during counting of Lok Sabha poll votes on June 4.

The poll panel was also urged by a BJP delegation comprising Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal to take cognisance of the "systematic attempts" being made to undermine the process and initiate stringent action against those responsible.

The delegation submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission (EC) in this regard.

Their efforts against India's "very robust" electoral process are a direct attack on the country's democratic institutions and pose a risk to public order and trust in the electoral system, Goyal told reporters after meeting the officials of the commission.

"We had to call upon the Election Commission today in light of the repeated attempts by a section of political parties, like the Congress and their INDI alliance partners, and also by certain motivated civil society groups and NGOs who are trying their level best to undermine the integrity of India's electoral process," he said.

The BJP delegation urged the EC to ensure enhanced monitoring and security measures are put in place during counting of votes to prevent "any attempts at violence or unrest".

Earlier in the day, a delegation of opposition INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress's Abhishek Singhvi, met the commission and urged it to ensure that all the guidelines are followed on June 4, including declaring the postal-ballot results before the outcome of the EVMs is announced.

Union minister Goyal said, "I think the mandate given by the people of India both in 2014 and 2019, and the likely mandate of the 2024 general elections, expected on June 4, has unnerved the opposition parties and certain non-governmental organisations, so called civil society groups, who can not accept a popular leader of the masses who has delivered for the wellbeing of 1.4 billion Indians."

Exit polls on Saturday predicted that Prime Minister Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls.

Terming the exit polls "bogus", the Congress on Sunday said they were a "deliberate attempt to justify rigging" of the elections and part of "psychological games" being played by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lower the morale of the INDIA bloc workers. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi dubbed the exit polls as "Modi media poll".

Goyal said the BJP delegation urged the EC to ensure that every official engaged in the counting process is fully conversant with the "minutest details" of the exercise and engages diligently with all protocols of counting so that there can be no deviation whatsoever.

The delegation also urged the poll panel "to ensure safety and security of the electoral process during the counting and announcement of results, including enhanced monitoring and security measures to prevent any attempts at violence or unrest", he said.

Goyal said the BJP delegation asked the EC to take cognisance of the "systematic attempts" being made to undermine the electoral process and take stringent action against those responsible.

"We also urged the EC to issue a public statement affirming the integrity of the electoral process and warning against any attempts to disrupt the democratic process," he added.