NEW DELHI: Upping the ante on the alleged discrepancies in the voting data released by the Election Commission of India (EC) in the first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday wrote to the leaders of various parties of the opposition INDIA bloc urging them to raise their voice to safeguard democracy and protect the independent functioning of the poll body.
“Let us ensure the independence of the Election Commission of India and make it accountable,” his letter read.
The EC released the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases on April 30, eleven days after the first phase on April 19, and four days after the second phase on April 26.
However, it is yet to publish the total number of voters in each Parliamentary constituency.
Several opposition parties, including Congress, CPM, and TMC have raised questions about the delay in releasing the polling data and the non-disclosure of the number of registered voters.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are the fight to save democracy and the Constitution of India, said Kharge in his letter, which he shared on X. “As you are aware of the recent developments, the credibility of the ECI is at an all-time low. It is in the public domain how the ECI, perhaps for the first time in history, delayed the release of the final voting percentages of the first and second phases of the Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress chief also questioned the inordinate delay in releasing the final voting percentages for the two phases.
“In my electoral life of 52 years, I have never witnessed such a high increment of voting percentages, in the final published data, that we now assume came from the later hours of voting on the polling days.”
The Congress chief also sought to know if there were any issues with the EVMs.
“On earlier occasions, the Commission has published voter turnout data within 24 hours of polling. What has changed this time? Why has the Commission failed to issue any clarification to justify the delay, despite being repeatedly questioned by political parties and political activists?” he wondered.
The Congress veteran also threw a volley of questions to the EC. “We ask the Commission, for the first phase, why is there a near increase of 5.5% in the final voter turnout from the date of conclusion of voting (at 7 pm on 19.04.2024) to the delayed release of voter turnout data (on 30.04.2024)?
For the second phase, there is a near increase of more than 5.74% in the final voter turnout from the date of conclusion of voting (at 7 pm on 26.04.2024) to the delayed release of data (On 30.04.2024)?,” he asked.
Apart from the delay, Kharge pointed out that the data released does not mention the votes polled in each Parliamentary constituency and the respective assembly constituencies.