A delegation of the Samajwadi Party (SP) met the Election Commission on Thursday and requested to take various measures to make the election process more transparent, curb the alleged misuse of government machinery during the election and stopped the deployment of tainted officials in election duty.
The delegation led by SP General Secretary and Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav and senior party leader Udayweedar Singh met CEC Gyanash Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi in the continuity of conversation organized by the political panels with the Presidents of various national and regional political parts.
The Election Commission is catching these interactions to enable these interactions to share its concerns and suggestions directly with a panel. In a statement released on Thursday, the Commission said that the initiative to organize these meetings align with all the stakeholders with a comprehensive vision to further strengthen the electoral process as per the current legal structure.
Sources said the SP delegation told the EC that the administration and the officials related to the election had not taken cognizance of the complaints of state machinery and police, which the party had raised during the recent years during the general elections and bipol held in UP.
The SP delegation cited complaints filed by its leaders during the assembly by -elections in Uttar Pradesh during the Milkipur (February this year) and Kundarki (November, 2024), both were won by BJP candidates. It alleged that the EC did not take action against the poll officials, which the SP accused of working in support of BJP candidates and intimidating voters.
The delegation suggested that EC takes effective measures to prevent misuse of state machinery during elections. It also suggested that political parties should be allowed to distribute voter slip during elections and voters should be engaged in increasing voting.
The Commission has already met delegation of several parties including BSP, BJP, CPI (Marxist), National People’s Party, Aam Aadmi Party, All India Trinumool Congress (AITC) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
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The EC said in its statement that in March this year, a total of 4,719 all-party meetings were held, including 40 meetings by CEOs, 800 by DOO, and 3,879 by Aeros, which attach more than 28,000 delegates of various political parties.
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