A delegation led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar arrived here on Thursday for a three-day visit to assess preparedness for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Official sources said the 13-member team of the Election Commission, in a review meeting with officials on the first day of its visit, discussed the arrangement of resources required for free, fair and peaceful voting in the state. Apart from this, the team also held meetings with national and state-level political parties, including Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, Samajwadi Party, Apna Dal (Sonelal), Bahujan Samaj Party and Communist Party of India.
According to the sources, the Election Commission team held talks with the representatives of all these parties one by one. The delegation also inaugurated an exhibition 'Elections: Moving Steps' at Yojana Bhawan in the state capital. This exhibition depicts the evolution of the Indian electoral system over time.
The exhibition showcases the entire journey from the first general election of independent India in 1951 to the adoption of VVPAT by the Election Commission in 2013. It also mentioned that 53 political parties and 1874 candidates had participated in the first general elections held on 489 seats.
According to the sources, the commission team will hold a meeting with all the district magistrates, divisional commissioners and regional, zonal and district police chiefs of the state on Friday to take stock of the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi said that the party's delegation met the Election Commission team and put forward several suggestions and demands through a letter. The delegation from Congress included Rajya Sabha member Pramod Tiwari, former MP P L Punia and Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra, Awasthi said.
He said the delegation demanded from the commission that 100 per cent matching and counting of the slips printed by the VVPAT machine installed with the electronic voting machine should be done. If this is not possible, it should be ensured that at least 50 per cent of the slips are counted.
Awasthi added that the delegation also demanded from the EC team that the continuous transfer of administrative and police officers of the state which is being done with the aim of misusing the election machinery should be immediately stopped. They urged that the transfer of senior officials done in the last three months should be reviewed and accordingly revoked.
