Voting percentage 'artificially' hiked, mismatch in votes polled & counted: Congress  

An interim report by the Haryana Congress' fact-finding committee on electoral malpractices in the October 5 Assembly elections has alleged that the voting percentage was artificially increased 12 hours before the start of vote counting to benefit the BJP. It has also claimed discrepancies between the votes recorded on EVMs and the counted votes.

In the report, which was released today, committee chairman Karan Singh Dalal said the Election Commission of India (ECI) initially announced a voting percentage of 61.19 per cent at 7 pm on October 5 (the day of voting). However, by 11:45 pm the same day, the percentage was raised to 65.65 per cent. On October 7, at 8:46 pm, the Press Information Bureau in Delhi released the final voting percentage as 67.9%, the report added. The counting of votes was done on October 8.

The report highlighted that between 7 pm and 11:45 pm on October 5, an additional 9.08 lakh votes were added, equating to 10,087 votes per constituency. Over the next 44 hours, the ECI reportedly added another 4.58 lakh votes, or 5,088 votes per constituency. The report concluded that between 7 pm on October 5 and 8:46 pm on October 7, a total of 13.66 lakh votes were added, averaging 15,175 votes per constituency.

“In any case, the second hike in EVM votes cannot and should not occur 50 hours after the scheduled polling time ended,” the report stated.

Dalal’s report questioned why the EC released voting data in percentages rather than providing the actual numbers of votes cast. Releasing only percentages raises serious concerns about the fairness and transparency of the electoral process, the report argued.

It also criticised the ECI for not disclosing videographic evidence of voters standing in queues at the end of polling at 6 pm on October 5. It added that slips issued to voters in line at that time were not made public to justify the “extraordinary” hike in the voting percentage.

Dalal pointed out that the BJP won 37 of 44 seats in 10 districts of Haryana, achieving a strike rate of 84.09 per cent, compared to only 11 of 46 seats in the remaining 12 districts, with a strike rate of 23.91 per cent.

The report cited eight EVMs that were charged up to 99% at the time of counting and listed their machine and table numbers. While it did not comment on the counting of postal ballots, it claimed there were mismatches between EVM votes polled and EVM votes counted. In nine districts, this mismatch ranged from 701 to 1,429 votes. Notably, in seven districts — Bhiwani, Gurugram, Rewari, Palwal, Faridabad, Panipat and Sonepat — the BJP won 25 out of 30 seats.

Dalal further alleged that the police and civil administration supported the BJP in distributing money and liquor to influence voters. He specifically accused the Chief Secretary and DGP of complicity, stating, “I will reveal the specific roles of officials later.”

The report also claimed that, contrary to SEBI norms, at least four individuals affiliated with the BJP serve as independent directors of Bharat Electronics, the company that manufactures EVMs.

Meanwhile, a senior official in the office of Haryana’s Chief Electoral Officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Congress's allegations had been previously rejected by the ECI. The official added that the Congress has now approached the High Court, and the matter would be decided by the judiciary.