New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated a fresh round of meetings with recognised state political parties as part of its ongoing consultations ahead of upcoming electoral exercises, including the crucial Bihar Assembly elections later this year and West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry Assembly elections next year.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on Tuesday had an interaction with a delegation from Trinamool Congress led by the party’s authorised representative-Chandrima Bhattacharya, Kalyan Banerjee, Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas and Prakash Chik Baraik and received their suggestions at the poll panel’s headquarters in New Delhi.

“These interactions provide for a long-felt need of constructive discussions which enable national and state party presidents to share their suggestions and concerns directly with the Commission,” said a press statement from the Election Commission.

It added that this initiative aligns with the Commission’s broader vision of further strengthening the electoral process in accordance with the existing legal framework, with all stakeholders.

The poll panel has already met with delegations of recognised National Parties. These include the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati on May 6, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by J.P. Nadda on May 8, CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby on May 10, National People’s Party (NPP) President Conrad Sangma on May 13, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Arvind Kejriwal on May 15.

Earlier this year, in March, a total of 4,719 all-party meetings were conducted, including 40 meetings by Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), 800 by District Electoral Officers (DEOs), and 3,879 by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), engaging more than 28,000 representatives of political parties across the country.

With Bihar set to go to the polls, the Election Commission is expected to intensify its focus on the state.

Meanwhile, the ECI has also taken a firm stance against defunct registered political parties.

Several such parties, which remain on official rolls despite being inactive for years, are now under scrutiny.

Last week, the poll panel started proceedings for delisting of 345 registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) which have failed to fulfil the essential condition of contesting even a single election for the last six years since 2019.

–IANS

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