TN Cong chief urges party agents to be present till last vote is counted; keep EC manual at hand

Chennai, June 3 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) President, K Selvaperunthagai, on Monday called upon the party’s counting agents to be at the counting centres till the last vote is accounted for, on June 4.

In a statement on Monday, the senior leader said that he had participated in a video call with Congress President, Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday along with other PCC chiefs on the measures to be taken during the June 4 exercise.

He said the national leaders had told the PCC chiefs to disregard the Exit Poll results that have given a huge majority to the BJP-led NDA.

Selvaperunthagai said that both Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had told the PCC presidents to be vigilant on counting day and ensure that agents were present in the counting centres till the last vote.

He said that he had assured Kharge and Rahul Gandhi that the Tamil Nadu Congress party would win all the seats it had contested.

Selvaperunthagai urged the party election agents to bring the Election Commission’s manuals and relevant law books to the counting centres to ensure they are fully informed of the procedures.

He called upon the party’s counting agents to reach the centres by 6 A.M. and be vigilant and cautious till the end.

The Congress leader said, “The counting agents must ensure that the EVMs and VVPAT’s are intact before the counting of the votes begins. They must verify the entries on Form 17C to confirm that the votes recorded in the form match those in the EVMs.”

He added, “If any machine has damaged seals or mismatched numbers, it should be set aside and not counted.”

The senior Congress leader said that each Assembly segment will have separate tables for counting votes and the counting agents of the candidates have the right to sit with the Assistant Election Officer at each of the tables.

He urged the agents to see to it that this right was not compromised, under any circumstances.