Election Commission Debunks Claims of Voting Irregularities in Recent Elections

New Delhi, November 11 (Daily Kiran) : The Election Commission of India (ECI) addressed numerous claims circulating on social media regarding significant discrepancies between votes cast and counted in the 2024 Lok Sabha and various state assembly elections. On November 11, the ECI labeled these claims as misleading and released detailed fact-checks to clarify the actual voting statistics.

These allegations primarily focused on constituencies in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir, gaining traction across social platforms. According to the ECI, many social media posts inaccurately equated the total number of registered voters with the votes cast or misinterpreted official data, leading to the appearance of discrepancies that do not exist.

For instance, regarding the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat, it was claimed that 1.81 million votes were cast while only 1.03 million were counted, suggesting nearly 778,000 votes were unaccounted for. However, official records indicate that there were 1,812,115 registered voters, with 1,036,496 participating. This total included 1,033,268 votes from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and 3,228 postal ballots. Following the ECI’s guidelines, after excluding test votes and uncountable votes from the Control Unit, a total of 1,035,731 votes were counted, resulting in a voter turnout of 57.20%.

In the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, claims surfaced that 666,046 votes were cast, yet 672,942 were counted, implying an excess of 6,896 votes. The ECI clarified that out of 1,748,803 registered voters, 676,408 votes were cast, which included 672,942 EVM votes and 3,466 postal ballots. After accounting for 1,009 test votes and other deductions, 675,399 votes were counted, yielding a turnout of 38.68%. The ECI confirmed that no extra votes were counted.

In Maharashtra’s Beed assembly seat, social media posts alleged that 384,000 votes were cast, but only 239,000 were counted, indicating a loss of 145,000 votes. Official data, however, shows there were 384,885 registered voters, with 242,983 votes cast, all of which were counted. The turnout here was 63.13%, and the ECI stated the difference of approximately 142,000 reflects voters who did not participate.

Similar claims arose for the Dahanu assembly seat, where it was said that 301,000 votes were cast but only 221,000 were counted. Official figures revealed 301,257 registered voters, with 221,818 votes cast and fully counted, resulting in a turnout of 73.63%. The gap of about 79,000 votes corresponds to non-participating voters.

In Haryana, the Tosham assembly seat was claimed to have seen 221,000 votes cast against only 160,000 counted. The ECI’s records indicated 223,609 registered voters and 161,872 votes cast, with a minor deduction for test votes leading to 161,020 counted votes and a turnout of 72.39%.

On the Kaithal assembly seat, a claim suggested only 215 individuals voted, while the ECI recorded 167,285 votes counted. The commission clarified that 215 refers to the number of polling stations, not voters. The actual figures show 223,449 registered voters and 168,851 votes cast, with a turnout of 75.57%.

In Jammu and Kashmir, similar allegations emerged regarding the Chenani, Kokernag, and Pulwama assembly seats, claiming additional votes were counted. The ECI stated that in Chenani, 85,189 votes were cast and counted, in Kokernag, 57,542 were cast and counted, and in Pulwama, 51,011 votes were cast, with 50,529 counted after necessary deductions.

The commission reiterated that the figures being misrepresented as “votes cast but not counted” are actually the total registered voters or other administrative data, such as polling station numbers. It emphasized that Form 17C serves as the sole legal record of votes cast at each polling station, with the first part provided to polling agents after voting ends and matched with the second part on counting day.

The ECI concluded that the official statistics available on its website clearly demonstrate there is no basis for the alleged large-scale discrepancies.