In what is seen as a first, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has called for a press meet on Monday at 12.30 pm, a day before the votes in the Lok Sabha elections will be counted.
During the previous Lok Sabha elections, deputy election commissioners would hold media briefings after each phase. However, the practise has been discontinued.
The press conference comes a day after the INDIA bloc urged the poll panel to ensure that postal ballots are counted and their results declared before that outcome of the EVMs is announced.
We spent time with the EC on two-three major issues. Most important was counting the postal ballots and declaring the results first. This is a very clearly stated statutory rule, which specifically says that you should take up the postal ballots first," Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said.
"Our complaint is that this guideline has been given a go-by. They have repealed the practice," he added.
On Sunday, Congress leader Ajay Maken alleged on X that the counting agents of the poll candidates are not being allowed at the tables of the assistant returning officers (AROs), but the EC has rebutted the claims. The opposition parties have asked their agents to monitor the vote-counting process closely on Tuesday and ensure that form 17C, which contains the number of votes recorded at each polling station, is shared with them.