EC postpones CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s youth outreach programmes

The Election Commission has rescheduled two youth-focused voter awareness programs originally scheduled to take place in Meerut on Thursday and in Varanasi on September 28. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was set to address these programs. This decision came two days after The Indian Express reported internal disagreements within the Election Commission regarding the Special Intensive Revision process, leading to separate letters from Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary.

The postponement was announced by an EC official on Friday, citing adjustments in event dates due to various factors including venue availability, authority schedules, and unforeseen circumstances. The postponement of these specific events was decided on September 21. The Youth pressure group Cockroach Janta Party had called for the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation, and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi echoed this sentiment.

The ECINET, the EC's portal and app for voter services, was also part of Kumar's planned agenda for the Varanasi program. The EC has conducted five revamped ELC conferences and ECINET interactions thus far, with the latest held in Ahmedabad on September 11. Kumar emphasized the importance of educating students about electoral processes and democratic values during his visit to Gujarat.