Mumbai, Sep 26 (PTI) Amid the Opposition’s demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Shiv Sena on Saturday said that creating a “vote theft” narrative and blaming the poll panel after an electoral defeat has become part of its political strategy.
Addressing a news conference, Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam said the appointment of the CEC and other Election Commissioners (ECs) as well as the process for their removal from office are governed by the Constitution.
Therefore, demanding that CEC Kumar resign within 48 hours is inappropriate from the perspective of the constitutional framework and democratic institutions, said Nirupam.
Three BJP allies — LJP (Ram Vilas), TDP and RLM — on Friday had sought a clearer explanation from the Election Commission over reports of concerns raised by two ECs over the voter list revision. The allies on Saturday, however, rallied behind the panel, saying its latest statement had addressed the concerns they had raised.
Nirupam, whose party, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, is a ruling partner in Maharashtra, also alleged that the Opposition was deliberately creating confusion over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
“Blaming the Election Commission after an electoral defeat and creating a vote theft narrative has become part of the Opposition’s political strategy,” Nirupam said.
He said questioning the credibility of constitutional institutions simply because an election result did not go in one’s favour was not a healthy democratic tradition.
The Sena leader said that issues such as youth unemployment, education, examinations and paper leaks can certainly be raised. However, it is inappropriate to use these issues as a pretext to make “baseless” allegations against constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission or against political parties, he said.
About the Opposition’s objections regarding SIR, Nirupam said identifying deceased, permanently migrated, absent or duplicate voters and updating electoral rolls in accordance with the rules was an integral part of the electoral system. He said it was incorrect to directly link this process with “vote theft”.
Referring to SIR in Bihar and West Bengal, Nirupam said there are provisions for filing claims and objections regarding names on electoral rolls and for verifying the necessary documents. Therefore, if there is an objection to any name under SIR, the available legal and administrative mechanisms should be used, he said.
Regarding Maharashtra’s electoral rolls, Nirupam claimed that several voters’ names have emerged that require physical verification. According to him, the figures being cited include approximately 7.6 million “absent” voters, nearly 7.5 million permanently migrated voters, around 3.4 million deceased voters and nearly 1.7 million duplicate voters.
Nirupam said that if the names of deceased, permanently migrated or duplicate voters are being removed in accordance with the rules, priority should be given to the accuracy and integrity of the electoral rolls rather than creating a political controversy over the issue.
He also objected to the allegations against the CEC. He said that it was inappropriate to hold an individual election commissioner or the entire electoral process responsible for a poll defeat. He appealed to the BJP as well as other political parties to firmly stand in support of the credibility of constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission.
The Sena leader’s remarks came after the Election Commission on Saturday asserted that all orders related to SIR were issued after approval from all three election commissioners, and the changes in Form 6, through which names are included in the voters’ list, have been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Amid the ongoing row over “differences” between two EC and CEC Kumar, the poll panel said in a statement that letters sent by the two commissioners – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi – to the Cabinet secretary were not related to any policy matter of the Commission or its IT division, but to the working of an officer on deputation to the poll panel. PTI PR NR
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