In a press conference on August 17th, the Election Commission responded to opposition charges, explaining how the actual situation on the ground is being disregarded. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stated unequivocally that the Election Commission is always accessible to everyone. He highlighted that at the ground level, all voters, political parties, and booth-level officers are collaboratively working transparently, carrying out verification processes, securing signatures, and providing video testimonials. The Election Commissioner pointed out that it is a serious matter that the verified documents and testimonials from political parties’ district presidents and their designated BLOs (Booth Level Officers) are either not reaching their state or national-level leaders, or attempts are being made to spread confusion by ignoring the ground realities.
Furthermore, the Election Commission dismissed claims of vote theft raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar maintained that all political parties are treated equally. The Election Commission does not discriminate. He elaborated that since every political party comes into existence through registration with the Election Commission, it cannot discriminate. The Election Commission views all parties as equal, without any distinction. The commission made it clear that it will not step back from its duties. The commission mentioned that improvements in the voter list were sought by all parties. The SIR in Bihar was conducted due to these demands. The commission noted that 15 days remain for name corrections in Bihar, and a month had been given. It requested that political parties provide the commission with any information about discrepancies in the voter list.