Congress Slams EC: ‘Not A Single Question Answered’ On Maharashtra Voter Discrepancies
Addressing the several concerns raised by Congress regarding alleged discrepancies in the voter turnout and deletion from voter lists in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, where the BJP-led Mahayuti government regained power, the Election Commission dismissed the claims. Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty hit back at the electoral body for not answering a “single question” asked in the letter by the party.
Maha Vikas Aghadi, the opposition in Maharashtra, met the Commission several times to raise their concerns regarding alleged discrepancies in voter turnouts.
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Ally Congress wrote to the electoral body on December 10, pointing out an “abnormal increase” in the total number of new voters enrolled and votes polled in the Vidhan Sabha elections as compared to the Lok Sabha polls.
The party alleged that 40 lakh new voters were enrolled, and 75 lakh extra votes were polled in the assembly elections vis-à-vis Lok Sabha.
You may recall that we had presented data showing an abnormal increase in the total number of new voters enrolled and votes polled in the Vidhan Sabha elections compared to the Lok Sabha election held just six months before. 40 lakh new voters were enrolled, and 75 lakh extra votes were polled in the Vidhan Sabha election vis-à-vis Lok Sabha.
“This increase of 4.3% in voters enrolled and 13% in votes polled is unusually high compared to previous election cycles in Maharashtra or other states under similar election cycles,” stated the letter.
When the Election Commission gets BJP’s TV channel @ndtv to put out misleading information, it only reconfirms suspicion & reaffirms distrust.
Below is @INCIndia’s letter to EC
Notice how not a single question asked in the letter has been answered by EChttps://t.co/Jih6oMpDlQ https://t.co/YDA85Ox0hX
— Praveen Chakravarty (@pravchak) December 24, 2024
Also Read | Former Poll Body Chief Raises Concern Over Increase In Voter Turnout In Maharashtra
Denying any discrepancies, the EC asserted that considering the 5 pm turnout as final is a misconception, as though voting officially ends at that time in most places, those already present at the polling booth are allowed to cast their votes.
Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD), a party that maintains an equal distance from the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc, also raised similar concerns. The BJD pointed out that prior to 2014, this discrepancy was always minor, going about 2 percent. This year, the difference ranged from 15 to 30 percent, the highest it has ever been for the state and in the country.
Also Read | BJD Alleges 3 Key Voting Discrepancies In Odisha Lok Sabha, Assembly Polls
Responding to the Congress allegations of arbitrary deletion from voters’ lists, the EC said that a total of 8,00,391 voters’ names were deleted this time, an average of 2,779 names per constituency. It said that the grand old party’s complaint of the addition of 50,000 voters in 50 assembly constituencies of Maharashtra was “misleading” and “factually incorrect,” as the total addition over 50,000 electors was found in only five constituencies.
The Congress had also asked the electoral body to publish data regarding Maharashtra assembly-wise voter rolls for 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Maharashtra assembly-wise voter rolls for 2024 Vidhan Sabha polls, and booth-wise Form 20 data for both polls in Excel format for the interest of the public. The EC has not done so, and neither has it addressed the party’s requests yet.
