The Trinamool Congress has accused the Election Commission of having a lackadaisical attitude citing the delayed release of voter turnout percentages for phases 1 and 2 of the Lok Sabha polls. The party has also demanded the release of the number of votes cast in both the phases.
“As you are aware, that the polling for phases 1 and 2 of the ensuing General Elections to Lok Sabha 2024, concluded on 19.04.2024 and 26.04.2024 respectively. The Election Commission of India belatedly released the voter turnout percentages for phases 1 and 2 on 30th April 2024,” read a letter the TMC sent to the commission on Monday.
The party demanded the commission publish the total number of registered voters in each parliamentary constituency, the total number of voters who turned up as per the “register of voters”, and the number of voters as recorded by electronic voting machines for all constituencies that went to the polls on April 19 and 26.
“However, the said voter turnout report only entails the percentage of votes cast. The report has no information about the total number of eligible electors and the actual votes cast. This is a paradigm shift from the previous voter turnout report(s) from past election(s), where the ECI provided a detailed report in this regard. The said report also exhibits notable discrepancies/inconsistencies in the percentages that was initially reported on 19.04.2024 pertaining to phase 1, wherein, the voter turnout percentage was shown to be 60%. Later the combined voter turnout report dated 30.04.2024 records the percentage of votes cast in phase 1 as 66.14%,” read the letter.
The TMC also questioned the delay of eleven days in releasing the final turnout percentages for phase 1, which according to the party showed a significant surge of 5.75 per cent in voter participation.
“[That] it was being reported almost four days after the conclusion of phase 2 without any proper explanation sparks a serious concern and doubt in the minds of the electorate,” the letter further said.
The TMC letter quoted Rule 49S of the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961 and accused presiding officers of omitting crucial information.
“The presiding officer shall prepare an account of votes recorded in Form 17C and furnish it to every polling agent, in which the actual number of electors, number of voters voted and total number of votes recorded as per voting machine are recorded. However, at the “Konachatra 5th Plan Pry School” polling station in the 01- Coochbehar (SC) Parliamentary Constituency and polling station no. “200 — Noapara EPS.” in 05- Raiganj PC, the Form 17C(s) only contains the total number of electors and votes recorded by the voting machine (EVM). The presiding officer(s) of the above-mentioned polling stations have deliberately omitted to provide the most crucial information, i.e., the total number of voters who physically came to cast their votes as per the ‘Register for Voters’, which is essential for cross-referencing/tallying with the votes recorded in the voting machine,” read the letter.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has also raised the delay in the release of voter turnout data. In a letter to constituents of the Opposition INDIA bloc, he said the commission’s credibility was “at an all-time low” and asked whether the delay was an “attempt to doctor the final results”.