With Chhattisgarh Assembly polls expected to be a keen affair, Congress today made a strong plea to the Election Commission to take up counting of postal ballots first to avert any last minute "manipulation".
State party chief Charan Das Mahant has told Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath that the proviso that the postal ballots could be received even one hour before the counting has created scope for the candidates to tap the postal voters even after polling is over.
"This opens scope for pressure tactics and manipulation. In closely contested elections, where the margins are often in two or three digits this can make a lot of difference," Mahant said in a memorandum to the EC.
He said in the past there have been instances where the postal ballots have changed the results after the votes cast through EVMs have been counted.
"There have been allegations of manipulation in such cases. To counter such allegations, it is requested that postal ballots be counted before the EVM votes are counted," he pleaded.
Mahant also wanted the Commission to appoint a special observer for each district to oversee the counting process. He also said that if counting at any place is not completed by 5 pm, then due to reasons of safety and security, it should be stopped and resumed the next morning.
