Accusing the Election Commission of tampering with voter data in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections, Congress leader Nana Patole on Thursday asked how voter turnout increased by 7.83 percentage points after the official polling time had ended, reported The Hindu.
On November 20, the day of polling in Maharashtra, a voter turnout of 58.22% was reported by 5 pm, according to Election Commission data. By 11.30 pm on the same day, the turnout went up to 65.02% and reached 66.05% by November 21.
“The Election Commission must explain how such an increase was possible,” said Patole, the Congress’ Maharashtra unit chief. “Where are the long queues that would justify this spike in numbers? The sommission should release video footage and photographs from polling stations to ensure transparency.”
The polling body not holding a post-election press conference raises further doubts about its impartiality and transparency, said the Congress leader.
The Mahayuti alliance, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena group led by Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party group led by Ajit Pawar, won 230 out of 288 seats in the state’s Assembly, according to the results declared on November 23. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats. The Shinde Sena won in 57 seats and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party won in 41 constituencies.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi – comprising the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress – won just 46 seats.
In response to the allegations, the Election Commission said that the increase in voter turnout after polling hours is not unusual and follows standard procedures.
“In Maharashtra, voters were in queue at 6 pm in many of the polling stations,” said the Chief Electoral Office in Maharashtra in a social media post. “Even in 2019, the percentages were 54.43% (approx) at 5 pm and 61.10% at final [count]. In urban and semi-urban areas, which constitute a large chunk in Maharashtra, a large number of voters come in the evening.”
The state electoral office claimed that the two-hourly voter turnout information up to 5 pm on polling day is based solely on oral telephonic communication.
“On the other hand, Form-17C which is given at the ‘Close of Poll’ to polling agents, matches with the final percentage and votes counted,” said the state electoral office. “Information in Form-17 C is matched by Candidate’s counting agents while counting.”
Patole had claimed that experts from several fields have raised concerns about the Election Commission’s handling of the election process.
“The Election Commission’s credibility is under question,” he said as he played a video in which political economist Parakala Prabhakar was seen questioning the alleged spike in voter turnout. “It has a duty to address doubts raised by political parties and the public alike.”
Patole, who chaired a meeting of party leaders, on Thursday rejected claims that the Congress was raising questions due to electoral defeat and said that the issue was about safeguarding democracy and upholding the Constitution.
“This is not about losing an election,” the Congress leader said. “It’s about protecting democratic values. The BJP and the Election Commission have colluded to undermine democracy, and Congress will fight this battle both in court and on the streets.”
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