MUMBAI: While questioning the overnight rise of over 82,000 votes in Palghar Lok Sabha constituency, Shiv Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said that the Election Commission of India is acting like a ‘Tawaif’.
“Our party workers had caught BJP workers red-handed while distributing money during Palghar by poll. But, even after lodging complaints, the Election Commission officials did not take any action. If similar inaction is shown by EC all over India then it means EC is acting like a ‘Tawaif’ (Mistress) of a party,” Raut said while speaking to media persons here.
On the day of the polling (May 28) the ECI officials had said in their tentative estimate that the voting percentage in Palghar was 46.50 per cent. However, the final figures yesterday (May 29) pegged the voting percentage in Palghar to be 53.22. In sheer numbers, the additional 6.72 per cent votes would mean an addition of around 82,000 votes, the Shiv Sena said and questioned the rise terming it to be unusual.
“We are well aware that the initial figures announced by the returning officers on the day of voting are tentative and the final figures are given after adding the votes till the last person has voted in. But, that difference is generally around 1 or 2 per cent at the most. The difference of around 7 per cent is too much to fathom,” said Shiv Sena spokesperson Dr. Neelam Gorhe.
However, district collector of Palghar Prashant Narnavare brushed aside the concerns saying that the difference was mainly due to an error in summing up percentage figures from all the booths. “The number of votes polled has not changed much. It remains to be 8,87,687. There was an error in calculating percentage of votes on the polling day which was rectified the next day,” Narnavre, who worked as the returning officer for the election, said today.
Meanwhile, the re-polling on 49 booths of Bhandara Gondia Lok Sabha constituency went on peacefully today, the ECI officials have said.