Agra, June 2 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday visited the renowned Kailash Mahadev Temple in Agra along with his family and offered prayers according to traditional rituals. During his visit, he emphasised the importance of maintaining clean electoral rolls, stating that they form the foundation of transparent and fair elections.

Speaking to reporters, Gyanesh Kumar said, “After the successful conduct of elections in five states, my wife Anuradha and I have come to our hometown, Agra, to seek the blessings of our parents.”

He further added, “After receiving our parents’ blessings, I visited the Kailash Mahadev Temple and sought the blessings of Lord Mahadev. Through your platform, I would like to appeal to all voters to obtain their voter ID cards and actively participate in the democratic process. Clean electoral rolls are the basis of transparent voting. Every citizen should come forward and exercise their right to vote.”

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had conducted Assembly elections in four states and one union territory. Polling was held in West Bengal on April 23 and 29, while elections in Tamil Nadu took place on April 23. Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry went to the polls on April 9. Counting of votes for all five regions was conducted on May 4.

Earlier on Sunday, CEC Gyanesh Kumar defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asserting that the exercise had resulted in some of the most accurate voter lists in the world. His remarks came amid criticism from opposition parties and shortly after the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the exercise.

According to Kumar, the revision process ensured that every eligible voter was included in the electoral rolls while removing ineligible entries. He described the updated rolls as among the “purest and most accurate” electoral databases globally.

The comments followed a Supreme Court judgment delivered on May 27 by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. The court observed that the SIR exercise strengthened the constitutional principle of free and fair elections and found that the Election Commission’s measures were lawful, proportionate, and supported by adequate procedural safeguards.

Kumar also highlighted that the revision process was conducted under extensive supervision, involving more than 1.5 million booth-level agents as well as district and state-level representatives of national and regional political parties, ensuring transparency and broad-based oversight throughout the exercise.

–IANS

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