Congress declines to meet EC team to discuss the delimitation exercise

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• Mar 27, 2023 | Dhupali Das

The Assam Congress has declined to meet with the Election Commission (EC) team, which has been touring the state to assess the...

Digital Desk: The Assam Congress has declined to meet with the Election Commission (EC) team, which has been touring the state to assess the current delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies.

Assam Pradesh Congress president Bhupen Borah told the media on Monday that he had previously notified the Chief Election Commissioner regarding multiple flaws in the state's delimitation process. However, despite several reminders, the EC did not react.

"On March 4 in Delhi, I met with the CEC, Rajiv Kumar, and submitted a memorandum about defects in the current delimitation exercise. He pledged a written response. After the meeting, we sent them numerous follow-up reminders, but they have not yet replied," Borah said. 

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The Congress leader also questioned the amount of time given to political parties to maintain their opinions on delimitation.

"Eleven political parties were given a total of three hours to meet with the EC team, which meant that each of us had no more than 15-20 minutes to share our views," Borah added.

According to the Assam Congress chief, his party has chosen to boycott the all-party meeting with the EC team for these reasons. However, he stated that Congress is not opposed to the delimitation process.

"We are not opposing the delimitation process, but the Election Commission must address our concerns. We have chosen not to meet with the EC team until we receive a written response to our previous memorandum," Borah added.

The Election Commission's entire team landed in Guwahati on Sunday evening for talks with each stakeholder about the delimitation. The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, and other ECI officials will be aware of the ground reality and expectations of the stakeholders and the general public regarding the ongoing delimitation process.

During this visit, the Commission will meet with political parties, public representatives, members of civic society, and social organizations to discuss the delimitation process.

They will also meet with the state administration officials, including the Deputy Commissioners of all districts in the state.