New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Monday held a press conference in Delhi, just a day before the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. During the conference, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar responded to the viral meme calling the ECI “laapataa gentlemen”. He said that the EC officials were never missing.
The CEC said, “Social media meme pages are calling us ‘Laapataa Gentlemen’. But we were never laapataa (missing), we were always here.”
Furthermore, the ECI announced accepting all demands flagged by multi-party delegations including INDIA bloc, during the press conference. While addressing the conference post elections, CEC Kumar said, “All issues raised by multi-party delegations have been addressed.”
The ECI also clarified on the Congress’ poll ballot demand during the presser. It said that the poll ballots are always counted first during the process.
A delegation of leaders from the INDIA opposition bloc met the full bench of the Election Commission on Sunday and urged it to ensure that all the guidelines are followed on June 4, when the votes polled in the Lok Sabha election will be counted, including declaring the postal-ballot results before the outcome of the EVMs is announced.
Briefing the media after the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi had said that this was the third time that a delegation of opposition leaders visited the poll panel during the general election and, among other things, urged the officials to ensure that the postal ballots are counted and their results declared before the results of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are announced.
“This is the third multi-party delegation visiting the EC during this process…. We spent time with the EC on two-three major issues. Most important was counting the postal ballots and declaring the results first. This is a very clearly stated statutory rule, which specifically says that you should take up the postal ballots first,” PTI quoted Singhvi as saying.
“Our complaint is that this guideline has been given a go-by. They have repealed the practice,” he added.
The leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) requested the EC to instruct its officials that they should follow the guidelines.
The opposition parties had asked their agents to monitor the vote-counting process closely on Tuesday and ensure that form 17C, which contains the number of votes recorded at each polling station, is shared with them.
A day ahead of the counting of votes, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Monday said that in the Lok Sabha elections, India recorded the highest voter turnout in the world, adding that the Indian elections are indeed a “miracle.”
The CEC also gave a standing ovation to all voters who took part in the Lok Sabha elections.
“We have created a world record of 642 million voters. This is the historic moment for all of us. This is 1.5 times the voters of all G7 countries and 2.5 times voters of 27 countries in the European Union (EU). We thank each and every one who took part in this festival of democracy. The Indian elections are indeed a miracle. Having no parallel in the world,” Kumar said.
CEC further said that 312 million women voters cast their vote in General Elections 2024, which is 1.25 times the women voters of 27 EU countries in their last national election. Reflects the ECI commitment to inclusive elections.
The women voters’ figures 1.25 times greater than the voters of 27 countries in the EU.
“The contribution of voters aged 85 and above is inspiring for our younger generation; they are the heroes of our democracy. They have witnessed India before independence and have shaped this country with their contributions over the past 70 years,” CEC Kumar said.
CEC Kumar said that, due to the meticulous work of the election personnel, we ensured fewer repolls.
“Due to the meticulous work of the election personnel we ensured fewer repolls – we saw 39 repolls in Lok Sabha polls 2024 as opposed to 540 in 2019 and 25 out of 39 repolls were in 2 States only,” he stated.
The Elections Commission extended special thanks to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for their faith in the electoral process. CEC Kumar also said that the assembly elections in J-K will be held soon.
“Voter turnout in the state is the highest in the last 4 decades,” he said.
He further said that the largest-ever global delegation of 75 observers from 23 countries was thrilled by India’s Electoral Marvel, which showcased unparalleled scale, meticulous planning, and integrity in the conduct of elections.
Muscle, Money, Misinformation and MCC
The EC head said,”4Ms: Identified, Confronted, and Tackled Muscle, Money, Misinformation and MCC Violations – impediments to free, fair, and transparent elections were addressed and responded to.”
Rajiv Kumar said that in the Lok Sabha elections, the poll body has not seen the violence.
“This is one of the General Elections where we have not seen violence. This required two years of preparation,” he said.
“Election Commission made a record seizure record of almost Rs 10,000 crores during this election. This is nearly 3 times the value seized in 2019…Local teams were empowered to do their work,” CEC Rajiv Kumar said.
The Chief Election Commissioner gave details about the counting process to be followed to declare the results of Lok Sabha elections on June 4, he said, “The entire counting process is absolutely robust. It works similar to the precision of a clock.”
The press conference was addressed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
