Non-Congress parties urge ECI for parleys before fixing repoll
Depute a full Commission, ECI urged
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 22 2012:
Non-Congress political organisations and candidates who contested in the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly election have reportedly urged the Election Commission of India for a session with political leaders prior to taking any decision on ordering repoll in the state.
speaking to newspersons today at the premises of Hotel Imphal, where a joint meeting of different non-Congress political parties was held, CPI state Secretary Dr M Nara said the meeting deliberated at length on the impendency of repoll in a number of polling stations from where reports about proxy voting and incongruity of photos of the voters have been emerging.
The meeting held amid speculation of the ECI likely to order repoll in over 30 polling stations, mostly concentrated in Assembly Constituencies in the hill districts, was reportedly attended by candidates and State unit leaders of the NCP, BJP, CPI, CPI (M), JD(U), MPP, NPF and AITC with Dr Nara, himself contesting the poll from Wangjing-Tentha AC, presiding the congregation as the chairperson.
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It is said that the political leaders reached on the consensus to apprise the ECI for excluding those polling stations, from where electoral mal-practices are being reported, at the time of counting of votes.
In the form of a memorandum, the ECI has been urged to invalidate votes cast at the polling stations from where maximum cases of proxy voting could be confirmed during subsequent photo comparison and relevant exercises, said Dr Nara adding that the ECI has also been intimated to consult leaders of the political organisations before any specific decision is taken with regard to ordering repoll.
The meeting also agreed to urge the ECI to depute a full commission to Manipur at the earliest in order to smoothly work out a consensus on the issue of proxy voting and incompatibility in photo comparison as well as resolve various complaints with regard to misuse of postal ballot papers, detailed the former Minister.
Asserting that as numerous cases of electoral mal-practices have been detected during the photo comparison exercise it would be wrong to include these votes during the counting process, Dr Nara suggested that the ECI resolve all outstanding issues prior to taking any decision on repoll or counting of votes.
The joint meeting held from around 11 am is said to have had a thorough discussion on the ECI likely to announce repoll in not less than 34 polling stations based on the findings of the Election department officials with regard to proxy voting and non-matching of a voter's photo taken during the January 28 hustings and those pasted in the photo electoral roll.