Respond to report on voter turnout figures benefitting BJP, Congress tells poll panel
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit quoted a citizens’ group report and said the BJP may have won 79 seats because of a big difference between preliminary and final voter turnout figures
A view of Election Commission of India, in New Delhi. File.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Quoting the findings of an expert group, the Congress on August 3 claimed that data showed that the BJP may have won as many as 79 seats because of a big difference between preliminary/initial and final voter turnout figures.
The principal Opposition sought clarification from the Election Commission of India (EC) on the findings of Vote for Democracy (VFD), who conducted a detailed study on the difference in the voter turnout data.
Also read | Discrepancy in number of votes polled and votes counted in 538 constituencies in Lok Sabha polls: ADR
Addressing a press conference, former Lok Sabha member and senior Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said the VFD reports suggests that the average difference in voter turnout is 4.7% or 4.65 crore votes nationally. He said in some States such as Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, the difference between initial and final voter turnout out is as high as 12.5% and the ECI needs to explain the difference.
“Even though we won the Lakshwadeep seat, the difference is 25%. Is such a thing possible,” asked Mr Dikshit. “The Indian National Congress would like to request or appeal to the Election Commission that they should take this report seriously as it concerns their own accountability,” he said.
The Congress leader said while a difference of around 1% is understandable, the “massive difference” raises serious questions.
Mr. Dikshit wondered why it took the EC so much time to come out with the final voting percentage, especially when voting data recorded in EVMs are updated every two hours. He pointed out that the EC took 11 days to come out with the final voter turnout figures of the first phase, six days for the second and four to five days for the subsequent phases.
The Congress leader said the EC may be a constitutional authority but it cannot take the position that it is beyond accountability and need not offer any answer if there are doubts about the process.
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