Before the election results, dispute between the ruling party and the opposition flares up once again. So far, the opposition leaders, who have been expressing suspicions about the EVMs, have now made postal ballots (mail-in votes) an issue and have knocked on the doors of the Election Commission on Sunday. A delegation from the INDIA bloc has presented five demands to the ECI. The opposition insisted that all protocols be followed during the counting of votes. EVM results should be declared after postal ballots. Following the opposition, a BJP delegation also reached the Election Commission emphasizing the strict adherence to all counting protocols.
On the opposition's demand, the Election Commission has agreed to count the postal ballots first. The Commission has announced that the postal ballot counting will commence first, followed by EVM counting after half an hour. This channel was also followed in Arunachal and Sikkim.
The opposition says that there is a rule to count the postal ballots first during the counting, which the Election Commission has changed through a guideline. Post this objection to the Commission, Abhishek Manu Singhvi stated that the old rule cannot be changed by just a guideline. Leaders of the INDIA bloc have demanded the count of postal ballots first, then the counting of EVM votes.
Postal ballot results should be declared before the EVM results.
The Election Commission should issue clear counting instructions and ensure their implementation.
The control unit's date and time of the voting start and end should be cross-verified.
The slip and tag put while sealing the EVM should be shown to all counting agents for verification.
A delegation from the INDIA alliance has met with the Election Commission and the opposition has called for a rigorous monitoring of the counting process from their agents on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the YSRCP has approached the Supreme Court regarding the validity issue of postal ballots.
