Congress Calls for Comprehensive Voter and Booth Data Amid ECI's No-Mismatch Assertion for Maharashtra Elections
Click to start listening
New Delhi, Dec 10 (NationPress) The Congress has once again raised its alarm over the significant discrepancies noted in voter registration and voting trends during the recently conducted Maharashtra Assembly elections.
In a letter directed to Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, the party pointed out an alarming surge in the number of newly registered voters and the volume of votes cast in the state’s legislative Assembly elections, especially when compared to the Lok Sabha elections held merely six months earlier. The party has requested comprehensive voter and booth data for the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
A Congress delegation, led by party officials, had earlier met with the Election Commission on December 3 to share their observations.
Previously, the Election Commission of India (ECI) stated on Tuesday that no inconsistencies were detected between the votes cast and the corresponding tallies of the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips during random counting for last month’s Maharashtra Assembly elections. The mandatory counting of VVPAT slips from five randomly chosen polling stations in each Assembly constituency was successfully completed, the ECI noted in a statement.
Nonetheless, the letter (dated December 10) from the Congress’ Data Analytics Department chairman Praveen Chakravarty asserts, “40 lakh new voters were registered, and 75 lakh additional votes were cast in the Vidhan Sabha elections compared to the Lok Sabha elections. This rise of 4.3 percent in voter registrations and 13 percent in votes cast is exceptionally high compared to previous election cycles in Maharashtra and other states under similar conditions.”
The party further suggested that the increased voter turnout seemingly favored the ruling BJP-led coalition.
“We also submitted a list of 118 constituencies in Maharashtra where there were over 25,000 extra votes compared to the Lok Sabha elections, with the BJP alliance winning 102 seats in the Vidhan Sabha versus only 58 in the Lok Sabha election,” stated the letter referencing the delegation’s discussion with the ECI. “As agreed during that meeting, we are waiting for further data from the Commission,” the Congress added.
In the letter, the Congress has urged the Election Commission to promptly release the following data: (1) Maharashtra Assembly-wise voter rolls in Excel format for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, (2) Maharashtra Assembly-wise voter rolls in Excel format for the 2024 Assembly elections, and (3) booth-wise Form 20 data in Excel format for the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
