ECI holds consultations with CPI; over 4,700 party meetings conducted in 150 days

New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday continued its outreach to political parties with an interaction held with a delegation from the Communist Party of India (CPI) led by General Secretary D. Raja at Nirvachan Sadan, New Delhi.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, received the party’s suggestions during the meeting. The consultation is part of a structured series of dialogues the Commission has been holding with national and state political parties.

According to the ECI, these interactions address a long-felt need for constructive discussions, enabling party leaders to raise concerns directly with the Commission. The initiative is also aligned with the poll body’s broader vision of strengthening electoral processes within the existing legal framework in consultation with all stakeholders.

Highlighting the scale of engagement, the Commission noted that in the last 150 days, a total of 4,719 all-party meetings have been convened across the country. These included 40 interactions by Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), 800 by District Electoral Officers (DEOs), and as many as 3,879 by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), engaging over 28,000 representatives of different political parties.

Since May this year, the Commission has met with leaders of several recognised national parties including BSP President Mayawati, BJP President J.P. Nadda, CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby, NPP President Conrad Sangma and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

Similarly, state-level consultations were held with representatives from the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, AIMIM, DMK, TDP, Shiv Sena, JD(U), BRS, BJD, JD(S) and others. The ECI underlined that such wide-ranging consultations reflect its commitment to transparency and inclusivity.

By engaging parties across the political spectrum, it aims to ensure that elections remain participative, fair, and reflective of diverse democratic voices.

With the CPI interaction, the Commission reaffirmed its resolve to continue an open dialogue with stakeholders as preparations intensify for upcoming polls in several states.

--IANS

sas/rad