Congress chief to INDIA leaders: 'Poll body's credibility at all-time low'

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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote a letter to leaders of INDIA bloc parties flagging discrepancies in the voting data released by the Election Commission.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has written a letter to INDIA bloc partners over voter data (PTI)

New Delhi,UPDATED: May 7, 2024 11:38 IST

Asserting that the "credibility of the Election Commission (ECI)" was at an all-time low, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday wrote a letter to leaders of INDIA bloc parties flagging discrepancies in the voting data released by the poll body.

Kharge also questioned the delay in the release of the final voting percentages for the first and second phases of the Lok Sabha elections, suggesting that such instances raise doubts about the quality of data released by the Election Commission.

"It is in the public domain on how the ECI, perhaps for the first time in history, delayed the release of the final voting percentages of the first and second phase of the Lok Sabha elections," Kharge said.

The Election Commission released the final voter turnout data for the first two phases of elections on April 30 — 11 days after the first phase of polling and four days after the second phase.

Usually, the poll body publishes voter turnout data within 24 hours of polling.

"The inordinate delay in the release of the final voting percentages for the first and second phases raises serious doubts on the quality of data. 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," he said.

Initially, around 60% of polling was recorded in the first phase on April 19 and 60.96% in the second phase on April 26. On April 30, the Election Commission final report said 66.14% turnout was recorded for the first phase and 66.71% for the second phase.

"Apart from the delay, the voter turnout data released by the commission does not mention crucial yet related figures, such as the votes polled in each parliamentary constituency and in the respective assembly constituencies? If the voter turnout data was published within 24 hours of voting along with the crucial figures, then we would have known if the increase (of ~5%) had been witnessed across constituencies? Or only in constituencies where the ruling regime had not performed well in the 2019 elections?" Kharge said in his letter.

The Congress chief also said reports of the final registered voters list from the third phase onwards not being released was "extremely disconcerting".

"Will the ECI be made answerable for this glaring mismanagement in basics in conducting the elections?" he said.

Training his guns at the Prime Minister, Kharge said Narendra Modi and the BJP were "visibly flustered" and "frustrated" by the voting trends and their "receding electoral fortunes" in the first two phases.

"The entire nation knows that an autocratic regime, drunk with power, can go to any extent to stay in the chair," he said.

The Congress chief urged the INDIA bloc partners to "unitedly and unequivocally" raise its voice against discrepancies in voting data.

Published By:

Abhishek De

Published On:

May 7, 2024