Hyderabad: Deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday said the demands for a return to the ballot paper system in elections should be considered, and that restoring public confidence in the electoral process should be the priority.
People should have the assurance that elections are being conducted freely, fairly and transparently,” Bhatti said while speaking at a conclave in Kochi. “The Election Commission has the primary responsibility of ensuring public confidence in the electoral system.
There are concerns that such information could be used to identify specific voters and that centrally coordinated Form-7 applications could be filed seeking deletion of their names from electoral rolls, according to him.
Responding to the criticism that the Congress questions the EC only when it loses elections, Bhatti said he was speaking first as a citizen. Political parties can win or lose elections, but ensuring public confidence in the electoral system is a fundamental responsibility of the Election Commission, he said. The deputy CM said he was working with chief minister A Revanth Reddy with full coordination.
He alleged that in the age of social media, it has become easier to identify the political preferences of voters in a constituency. Bhatti also appealed to leaders who had left the Congress to return to the party and work together to strengthen the country. “We regularly discuss issues, exchange views and arrive at decisions aimed at implementing the Congress ideology, welfare and development in the state. There are no differences. We are working together,” Bhatti added.
“Electoral victories and defeats are often decided by narrow margins of 2,000, 5,000 or 10,000 votes. In such circumstances, deletion of 25,000 to 40,000 votes in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) could have an impact on election results,” he said.