Patna, Oct 26 (IANS) The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has demanded strict transparency and safeguards during the counting of votes for four graduate and four teachers’ constituencies of the Bihar Legislative Council.
A party delegation led by MLA Bhai Virendra submitted a memorandum to Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjial on Monday, seeking guidelines on 10 points to prevent possible irregularities.
The memorandum cited the 2024 Chandigarh mayoral election and stressed the need to preserve ballot papers in their original condition and ensure impartial decisions on the validity of votes.
Copies were also sent to the Election Commission of India and the commissioners of the respective divisions.
The RJD demanded a ban on violet pens and similar writing instruments inside counting centres.
It also called for a prohibition on adding marks such as ticks, crosses or lines to ballot papers and sought uniform criteria for determining valid and invalid votes across all counting tables.
The party further urged officials to examine suspicious ballot papers before counting first-preference votes.
It called for authorised agents to be allowed to raise objections, continuous monitoring through CCTV cameras and videography, and the declaration of results only after reconciling valid and invalid ballot papers and verifying result sheets.
The memorandum also sought clear accountability from counting officials and a mechanism to ensure immediate action on complaints.
The delegation included former MLA Rajendra Kumar Ram, Ranvijay Sahu, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Singh, the RJD candidate for the Patna Teachers’ constituency, Dr Anwar Alam and Mukund Singh.
Speaking to the media, Bhai Virendra said the party had conveyed its concerns about possible vote theft to the Election Commission and raised several important issues.
He said the Chief Electoral Officer had assured the delegation that the counting process would be transparent and conducted in accordance with the Commission’s guidelines.
However, Bhai Virendra said concerns about possible vote theft persisted. He expressed confidence that the RJD would win all eight seats.
Dr Sanjeev Kumar also alleged that some officials had previously faced questions over their conduct and that cases related to irregularities had been registered against them.
He demanded that officials facing such allegations should not be assigned counting duties.
The counting of votes is being closely watched, with the RJD insisting that strict adherence to electoral rules is essential to ensure a fair and credible outcome.
–IANS
ajk/rad
About the Author
