EC starts interaction with political parties for greater understanding of issues; meets Mayawati

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Tuesday held an interaction with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati here, its first meeting with a political party as part of an initiative to push for greater and regular engagement with different stakeholders.

BSP's national general secretary Satish Chandra Misra and party treasurer Shridhar were also present.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi spoke with the BSP leadership at the Nirvachan Sadan.

The meeting is part of Election Commission's emphasis on fostering greater and regular engagement with different stakeholders.

This is the first such interaction with a political party the EC has held.

BJP, Congress, AAP, CPI (M) and National Peoples' Party are the other national parties recognised by EC.

There are nearly 50 state recognised parties.

The poll authority has initiated interactions with national and state political parties to provide a long-felt need of constructive discussions which enable party chiefs to share their suggestions and concerns directly with the Commission.

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 EC said.

Earlier, a total of 4,719 all-party meetings have been conducted, including 40 meetings by state chief electoral officers, 800 by district election officers, and 3,879 by electoral registration officers engaging over 28,000 representatives of various political parties.