New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday said the party has devised a unique QR code-based identification system to ensure safety and transparency in the election of the party president and will soon provide Identity Cards to over 9,000 delegates who will vote in the process.
“In a first for any political party, including the Congress, we are providing QR code-based Identity Cards to the over 9000 delegates who will take part in the election for the new party president,” AICC Data Analytics Department chairman Praveen Chakravarty told ETV Bharat.
“The identification system was devised after Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry asked me to ensure that the process of internal polls is safe and transparent,” he said, adding that “even the Election Commission of India does not have such ID cards.” According to Chakravarty, each ID card has a unique code generated by his department and which is secure in special servers.
“This unique code is available only to us. In case a delegate tries to use a duplicate identity card for polling, the returning officer concerned would be able to verify it immediately,” he said.
“The new ID cards are ready and have been handed over to the respective state returning officers who will ensure they reach the delegates. The distribution would be completed soon,” Chakravarty, who attended a CEC meeting in which chairman Mistry reviewed the preparations for the high-profile election with the state officials, said.
Earlier, the Data Analytics Department had been entrusted by Rahul Gandhi to carry out a digital membership drive, also a first in the grand old party. “The exercise was launched in October last. I had appointed coordinators in every state. Each one was given an App. Only approved enrollers were provided the App. They used the App and followed a three-step verification process in which they checked mobile numbers through an OTP process, voter ID and the photograph,” said Chakravarty.
“The ID cards are only for verification purposes. The polling, if needed, would be through ballot papers,” said Chakravarty. According to sources, during the CEC meeting, Mistry briefed the returning officers on the process and the crucial polls, which have generated a lot of interest within and outside the party.
All eyes are now on Rahul Gandhi, currently leading the Bharat Jodo yatra, who has maintained suspense over whether or not he would file papers when nominations open for the post of party president on September 24. Nominations close on September 30. The notification for the polls would come on September 22 and the CEC hopes to distribute the new ID cards to all the delegates before that.
When the nominations start, Rahul would be in Kerala, and around the polling date October 17, he would be in Karnataka. Keeping that in mind, the CEC has made arrangements that will allow Rahul’s 119 fellow travellers to cast their ballot at the Karnataka state unit headquarters in Bengaluru.
