Amid the apprehensions expressed by the Congress regarding the voting proportion in Maharashtra elections, the Election Fee has invited a Congress delegation to satisfy it on December 3. The ECI famous {that a} clear course of is adopted with the involvement of candidates and their brokers at each stage of the voting course of.
The grand outdated celebration had additionally raised some apprehensions concerning the EVM course of after the Haryana meeting polls. The ballot panel has stated it’s going to evaluation all official issues of Congress and supply a written response after listening to the celebration’s delegation. In its interim response to Congress, the ECI reaffirmed that there’s a clear course of with the involvement of candidates or their brokers at each stage.
In its interim response, the ballot physique additionally reiterated that there’s a clear electoral roll updation course of with the involvement of political events. The Fee has nonetheless assured Congress of additional evaluation of all its official issues, the officers stated.
Responding to the problem raised by Congress pertaining to the voter turnout knowledge, the ballot physique asserted that there isn’t any discrepancy in voter turnout knowledge, which is accessible with all candidates polling station-wise and is verifiable.
“The hole in 5 PM polling knowledge and ultimate voter turnout is because of procedural priorities, as presiding officers carry out a number of statutory duties close to the shut of the ballot earlier than updating voter turnout knowledge. As a further disclosure measure, the ECI press observe, at round 11:45 pm, was thus launched in the course of the 2024 basic elections and adopted subsequently throughout all meeting elections thereafter,” the ballot panel stated.
On Friday, the Congress lashed out on the Election Fee and alleged that the “integrity of all the electoral course of is being severely compromised.” The difficulty was mentioned on the Congress Working Committee assembly, and the celebration stated it’s going to launch a “nationwide motion.”
“The Congress Working Committee (CWC) believes the integrity of all the electoral course of is being severely compromised. Free and truthful elections is a constitutional mandate that’s being referred to as into critical query by the partisan functioning of the Election Fee. Growing sections of society have gotten pissed off and deeply apprehensive. The Congress will take up these public issues as a nationwide motion,” the Congress assertion stated.
Talking to the media, Congress basic secretary KC Venugopal stated that “electoral malpractices” additionally influenced the results of the Haryana Meeting election.
“The CWC additionally acknowledged that the celebration’s efficiency in Haryana has been opposite to all expectations. The INC ought to have shaped the federal government within the state by a convincing margin, nevertheless it did not. Nevertheless, there have been electoral malpractices that influenced the consequence within the state, which have been neglected,” he alleged.
He stated that the CWC accepted the celebration’s efficiency in Maharashtra; that was “unexplainable and stunning,” and it seems to be a transparent case of “focused manipulation.”
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole additionally wrote to the ECI in search of to know the way voter turnout elevated by 7.83 proportion factors after the official polling time had ended.
“Doubts are being raised from many ranges on the 7.83 p.c enhance in votes. Trying on the vote figures introduced by the Election Fee, there will need to have been lengthy queues on the polling stations after 5 p.m. on the day of voting. In what number of constituencies within the state have been there lengthy queues of voters after 5 pm?” Patole stated his letter to the apex ballot physique.
He additional demanded that the Election Fee announce “proof,” together with video footage. “Based on the official figures launched by the Election Fee, 65.2% of voting was carried out until 11.30 pm on November 20. The official figures launched on the subsequent day, i.e., on November 21 at Three pm, have been 66.05 p.c. The place did the 1.03 p.c discrepancy within the figures formally launched by the Election Fee itself come from? How did a whopping 9 lakh ninetynine thousand and 300 and fifty-nine votes enhance in a single day?” he requested.
(With ANI Inputs)
