New Delhi: The Congress was all set for D-day on Tuesday and had set up a monitoring centre to supervise the much-awaited counting of votes for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on June 4. “We have made all necessary arrangements for the counting day. The BJP government can play any sort of mischief. In the past, they have influenced various constitutional institutions. Though we trust the Election Commission of India, we need to be alert,” Syed Naseer Hussain, who manages Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s office, told ETV Bharat.
“The INDIA bloc met on June 1 and assessed the polls. A reasonable number of 295 plus seats was then announced by the Congress chief. We are confident of our win,” he said.
The AICC functionary’s views reflected the confidence that former party chief Sonia Gandhi exuded in the morning by saying that the actual poll results would be opposite to the exit polls, which have predicted an NDA win.
According to party insiders, the Congress had asked all its state units to remain alert throughout the counting day and directed them to quickly deploy party workers if some wrongdoing was reported from any place.
Furthermore, the party asked the party workers not to leave the counting tables till the entire process was completed and urged them to record videos of any suspicious activity on their mobile phones and send the same to the national monitoring centre.
The party also lined up a battery of lawyers who will offer solutions and help the workers deal with any wrongdoings reported during the counting process. “There are some clear seats and some close seats where there may be a need for a legal mind,” said Hussain.
According to party insiders, the precautions were being taken as the BJP leaders had repeatedly violated the model code of conduct during the seven polling phases and even had made public their intention of changing the Constitution.
“It is due to this ethically corrupt conduct of BJP that we need to be alert during the counting of votes tomorrow. We appeal to every worker to step out of their homes to protect democracy. Instead of watching the results on TV, workers should reach the district and state party headquarters to help the party safeguard our votes,” an AICC communication to the state units said.
“Workers should remain in constant contact with the voters and report any discrepancy in the counting process along with the name of the counting centre and the parliamentary constituency concerned to designated helpline numbers so that necessary action may be taken,” the message said.
Besides the monitoring system, the Congress also made elaborate arrangements to host a large number of senior leaders and media contingents, who would converge at the AICC headquarters on Tuesday.
“We have instructed the workers to keep a vigil on all the counting centres. They have been prepared to deal with any problem. The INDIA bloc is going to win. The Congress is the major opposition party and must play its role,” Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav told ETV Bharat.
