Amid concerns flagged by the Congress, the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday clarified the misconception regarding the jump in voting percentage in Maharashtra that occurred on polling day saying the increase in voter turnout from 5 pm to 11.45 pm is normal and there were no arbitrary additions or deletions of voters in the state.
In its 66-page response to the Congress, the Commission said it would not be correct to compare 5 pm voter turnout data with final polling data. The poll body asserted that it is impossible to change actual voter turnout as statutory Form 17C giving details of voter turnout is available with authorised agents of candidates at the time of close of poll at the polling station itself.
The Congress had approached the poll panel in November flagging various concerns related to the Maharashtra assembly polls. In a letter to the EC, the Congress said that there was an “inexplicable increase” in voter turnout between 5pm and the final voter percentage announced by the EC at 11.30pm on the day of polling.
Coming out with a detailed note and frequently asked questions (FAQs), the EC told the Congress that increase in voter turnout from 5 PM to 11:45 PM was normal, being part of the process of aggregation of voter turnout. It said there can be bona fide but inconsequential differences in votes polled and votes counted. It said rule-based process was followed with transparency in Maharashtra electoral roll preparation and there was no irregular pattern in voter deletions in the state. It told the Congress that due process was followed, including participation of Congress representatives in preparation of electoral rolls.
The poll body said that its complaint of an average addition of 50,000 electors between July and November in 50 assembly seats, out of which 47 have been won by the Mahayuti, is factually incorrect and misleading.
It said the fact is that only six assembly constituencies had total additions of over 50,000 electors during the period. Hence the question of winning in 47 seats on this basis does not arise.
“Candidates, through their polling agents and counting agents, receive all statutorily disclosed data and Forms which are not, in any way, dependent on, or even connected with any aggregation or centralized disclosures through press notes or any other means. Such decentralized statutory disclosures make it impossible for anyone to change or manipulate any details or data in these documents at any stage. The credibility of the Indian electoral space, recognized and acknowledged worldwide, is not episodic and is agnostic to electoral outcomes. It is layered ‘bottoms - up’ with each step transiting scrupulously into the next step, in a verifiable and sequential system”, the EC said.
In its reply, the Commission has listed out nearly 60 instances of proactive involvement of political parties or candidates during the entire electoral process. The Commission reiterated that political parties, being key stakeholders, are involved scrupulously at each and every stage of the election process from Roll to Poll. Meaningful involvement of political parties/candidates are key pillars of the Indian electoral process. The poll body informed the Congress that all data, as demanded by the party, pertaining to electors for each Constituency in Maharashtra and Form 20 is available on CEO Maharashtra’s website and can be downloaded. In its reply EC assures collaboration on its meticulous, participative, and transparent processes. The Commission underscored the importance of collaboration with all political parties and welcomed constructive suggestions.
While detailing the well laid out mechanism with sufficient checks and balances and disclosures, the EC emphasised that the watertight statutory scheme ensures that deletion and addition of voters is done strictly according to rules with fullest involvement of political parties at every stage.It underlined that there were no bulk deletions or unusual deletion patterns of noticed across all assembly seats.
Deletions of an average of 2,779 electors per seat happened on account of death or shifting and duplicate entries after following due process, including participation of party representatives.
The Commission further clarified that the concept of “Voter Turnout” is neither defined anywhere in the election laws nor does any statute explain the procedure of publication of data of voter turnout at constituency level, state level or at national level. It has simply evolved as a popular term, coined by psephologists, academicians, media and general public, over the last several decades to broadly denote the level of participation of the electorate in the polling process. To avoid confusion and ambiguity about voter turnout and its reporting mechanism among stakeholders and election authorities, it is imperative to explain the term ‘Voter Turnout’ (VTR) and provide a clear framework through instructions.
On the Congress concerns, the EC said the working of a meticulous, transparent and participative electoral roll updation process, involving all political parties and public at large. While detailing the well laid out mechanism with sufficient checks and balances and disclosures, the poll body emphasised that the watertight statutory scheme ensures that the deletion and addition of voters is done strictly according to rules.
