A cumulative increase of 4.65 crore votes from the initial turnout estimates to the final figures in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections may have benefited the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in 79 seats across 15 states, a report has claimed.
The report, titled ‘Conduct of Lok Sabha Elections 2024’, was released by Maharashtra-based civil society organisation Vote For Democracy on July 22. It analysed allegations of manipulation and misconduct during voting and counting in the general election.
The organisation, which includes activists Teesta Setalvad and Dolphy D’Souza, called for “an independent investigation under autonomous supervision” into all the allegations raised during polling.
The report extrapolated phase-wise election data to claim that there was a difference of 4,65,46,885 votes between the turnout figures announced by the Election Commission on the dates of the elections and the final figures that the poll panel announced.
The organisation estimated that due to these additional votes, the National Democratic Alliance may have won an additional 18 seats in Odisha, 11 in Maharashtra, 10 in West Bengal, seven in Andhra Pradesh, six in Karnataka, and five each in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
It claimed that the BJP-led alliance similarly won three additional seats in Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, two in Assam, and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala.
“Arguably, these 79 seats have played a decisive role in determining the mandate and who/which dispensation comes to power,” the report said. It identified these seats by identifying the seats where the winning margin of the National Democratic Alliance was less than the average number of additional votes per constituency.
The Election Commission, in a press conference on June 3, said that allegations that it delayed releasing voter turnout data and inflated the total number of votes were baseless.
Responding to similar allegations on May 10, it cited data from previous elections to claim that there was no unusual lag in releasing the figures. The poll panel said that even in previous elections, the updated voter turnout was always higher than the figure stated on the day of the polling.
However, in several places, the Lok Sabha elections were marred by allegations of irregularities and violence.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, Muslims alleged that the police stormed booths, snatched identity cards and beat up voters on the day of polling.
The attacks were reported from Muslim-majority villages that voted overwhelmingly for Samajwadi Party in the 2022 Assembly polls.
In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Amol Kirtikar has filed a petition challenging the victory of Ravindra Waikar, member of the Shiv Sena faction headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, from the Mumbai North-West Lok Sabha seat.
Waikar defeated Kirtikar on June 4 by 48 votes. The Uddhav Sena leader argued that his rival’s victory was void because the poll panel allegedly allowed impersonators to cast 333 votes.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 240 Lok Sabha seats, a significant dip from its tally of 303 seats in 2019. As it fell short of the majority mark of 272 seats, it had to depend on its coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance to form the government.
‘Shocking revelations’: Congress on report
Responding to the report by Vote for Democracy, the Congress on Friday said that the “shocking revelations” made in it could shake the trust of the people in democracy.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, in a post on X, said that the Election Commission should clarify its stance on the report and “restore the faltering faith of the people in the democratic process”.
He added: “But if what is said in the report is true, then the political history of Indian democracy is seeing its turning point.”
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