CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby met Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi on Sunday as Opposition parties stepped up efforts to coordinate their response to the ongoing controversy over the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The meeting came ahead of a proposed INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on September 30. Opposition parties are expected to discuss the functioning of the Election Commission, the SIR exercise and possible joint action over their concerns.
Baby has been reaching out to parties both within and outside the INDIA bloc. He had written to Opposition leaders seeking a joint discussion on developments surrounding the Election Commission and the electoral-roll revision process. He has also spoken to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, while contacting several non-NDA parties.
The SIR exercise has become a major point of political disagreement between the Opposition and the Election Commission.
Opposition parties have raised concerns about the process of revising electoral rolls and have demanded that the exercise be stopped. Several parties have also called for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The CPI(M), Congress and other Opposition groups have been seeking a coordinated response.
The controversy intensified after reports suggested that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions linked to the SIR exercise.
The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that there was a division within the poll panel. It has said that different views, observations and technical suggestions are part of institutional deliberations and maintained that decisions relating to the SIR were approved unanimously.
The poll panel has also announced measures aimed at making the verification process easier for voters. It said voters receiving notices over unmapped records or logical discrepancies would ordinarily not have to appear before electoral registration officers, with booth-level officers expected to collect documents from their homes. Hearings would be held only in exceptional cases, preferably online.
Baby’s meeting with Kejriwal is part of a broader effort to bring different Opposition parties together on the issue.
According to Baby, the five Left parties have discussed the need for an “INDIA-plus” approach involving all Opposition parties as well as civil society groups and other organisations. He has also sought the participation of parties that are not part of the INDIA bloc.
Kejriwal’s AAP is among the parties Baby has approached. The CPI(M) leader said the AAP chief had expressed concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and the need for a coordinated response. The AAP did not issue a separate public statement on the meeting.
Baby also invited Kejriwal to participate in programmes planned in Kerala by the Left Democratic Front. The proposed events are linked to the CPI(M)’s criticism of the Enforcement Directorate’s actions involving former Kerala chief minister and party leader Pinarayi Vijayan.
The INDIA bloc meeting scheduled for September 30 is expected to bring the issue into sharper focus. Leaders are likely to discuss the Election Commission’s functioning, the SIR process and the Opposition’s next steps.
The Congress has separately announced protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The party has also criticised the Election Commission’s recent measures on SIR, arguing that they do not adequately address its concerns about voters whose names may be affected during the revision process.
Not all INDIA bloc parties may have senior leaders present. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is expected to send senior representatives because of the Rajya Sabha nomination process involving seats in Uttar Pradesh.
The political dispute has also drawn a response from the BJP.
Union minister J P Nadda on Monday defended the Election Commission and criticised Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Kejriwal, over their allegations concerning the SIR exercise. Nadda said the Election Commission had already responded to the concerns raised by the Opposition.
The BJP’s position contrasts with the Opposition’s demand for further action against the poll panel.
With the September 30 INDIA bloc meeting approaching, the Election Commission-SIR controversy is now becoming a key issue for Opposition coordination. The coming discussions are expected to determine how different parties approach the electoral-roll revision exercise and their demands concerning the Election Commission.
