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90% votes cast peacefully: Mirdha

Over 90 per cent votes were 'peacefully' cast on Sunday in the Congress presidential polls with incumbent Sonia Gandhi and her challenger Jitendra Prasada exercising their franchise in Lucknow, according to party central election authority chairman Ram Niwas Mirdha.

Significantly, Mirdha admitted that there had been shortcomings in the ongoing organisational polls because 'we have not followed the rules'. Mirdha also informed about some other shortcomings during the poll.

This must have been music to the ears of the Jitendra Prasada camp followers who have been alleging that the presidential polls have been characterised by irregularities.

A veteran supporter of Prasada's camp indicated that 'we are not going to remain quiet since even Mirdhaji has conceded that there have been irregularities in the ongoing organisational polls'. He did not elaborate.

Briefing reporters, Mirdha informed that repolling was conducted in 36 centres spread all over the country, including the newly-created states of Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, peacefully.

Mirdha said that Murli Deora was unanimously elected president of the Mumbai Pradesh Congress committee and so was Pranab Mukherjee of the West Bengal unit.

However, 250 delegates in Assam and 280 in Kerala could not vote because of various shortcomings and Mirdha contended that their combined total of 530 would be subtracted from the overall total of about 8000 delegates.

He said there had been a minor scuffle in the PCC office in Lucknow but it had 'nothing to do with the poll process'.

Party spokesman Prithviraj Chavan later told reporters that the miscreants, who were making a scene, were prevented by the Special Protection Group commandos guarding Sonia Gandhi from entering the Lucknow party office in her presence.

According to Mirdha, the ballot papers, to be counted on November 15, would be brought to the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi after being sealed in the boxes. They would be guarded round-the-clock by batches of ten Seva Dal workers along with policemen who would be standing vigil.

Mirdha informed that there was a shortage of 20 ballot papers in Jammu and Kashmir and 15 in Chhattisgarh.

In Delhi, three persons could not exercise their franchise because of various reasons. There are 104 delegates in Delhi while 38 other members from other states were accorded permission by the CEA chairman to vote in Delhi, he said.

He pointed out that the CEA would be deputing 20 persons for the counting of votes and other duties.

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