New Delhi: The Congress Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry on Saturday rejected the appeal made by five party MPs that electoral rolls be published before nomination for polls for party president to ensure transparency.
The issue arose in the backdrop of suspense on whether Rahul Gandhi would become party president again or not. Recently, Rahul said he had made up his mind over the issue and would make his stand clear at an appropriate time. He also said that there would be clarity over the issue when the polls take place. “It is an internal matter. They wrote to me, I have replied to them,” Mistry told this channel.
According to sources, the CEC chairman has told the five MPs that if anyone needs to see the rolls, they can visit any state unit headquarters for the same. The CEC chairman also told the five MPs that in case visiting the various PCC headquarters was not possible for a leader, he or she could visit his office in Delhi from Sep 20 onwards to check the list of delegates.
Further, Mistry told the lawmakers that the CEC has given a unique QR code-based identity card to each of the 9000 delegates and anyone wanting to file a nomination must ensure that the correct identity card details of the 10 delegates supporting their name must be mentioned in the nomination form. Only persons with valid QR codes would be allowed to sign on the nomination forms, Mistry’s letter said.
Also read: 5 Cong MPs write to Mistry seeking electoral rolls be provided to electors, potential candidates
“This should resolve the anxiety of anybody regarding the process of the nomination for the post of Congress president,” Mistry said in his letter. The fresh controversy arose after five party Lok Sabha MPs, Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Pradyut Bordoloi, Abdul Khaleque and Karti Chidambaram wrote a letter to Mistry on September 6 urging him to publish the electoral rolls before nominations for the post of Congress president open on September 20.
The issue had surfaced recently when Tewari and Chidambaram along with veteran Anand Sharma raised the issue of transparency in the elections for the post of Congress president and made a similar demand, which was rejected by the party. Sharma had raised the issue at a CWC meeting on Aug 28 when the revised schedule of polls for the post of party chief was approved.
Mistry had then said that only those who file a nomination between Sep 24 and 30 would be given a copy of the rolls containing the details of around 9000 delegates who will vote for the new Congress president. After the nominations close, the CEC would publish the rolls on the party website. Polling, if needed, would take place on Oct 17, results would be out on Oct 19.
The CEC chairman reiterated the stand in his reply to the five MPs. In their letter, the five MPs took the matter further saying that if publication of rolls was not possible, the CEC should put in place a secure system where anyone desirous of filing a nomination could go and check the names and details of the delegates. As per party rules, a leader needs endorsement from at least 10 delegates from across the country to file a nomination.
“These leaders are raising such demands just to create confusion and controversy,” said a senior AICC functionary.
