New Delhi: After any "unfavourable verdict" by voters, trying to "defame" the Election Commission (ECI) "by saying that it is compromised, is completely absurd", the poll panel sources said in a strongly-worded reaction to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's statements targeting the poll panel.
"Any misinformation being spread by anyone is not only a sign of disrespect towards the law, but brings disrepute to the thousands of representatives appointed by their own political party and demotivates lakhs of election staff who work untiringly and transparently during elections," ECI sources held.
Gandhi, on a visit to the US, again raised questions over the sanctity of the electoral roll in the Maharashtra elections, the large number of voters casting the ballot in later hours and the ECI amending rulebooks to deny it video graphed evidence from polling stations. Gandhi held that "the Election Commission is compromised, and it is very clear that there is something wrong with the system". On Tuesday, ECI sources refuted Gandhi's "unsubstantiated allegations" highlighting six points, the first being how 65 lakh voters could have cast their ballot in the last two hours on voting day. ECI has held that 6,40,87,588 electors voted in the Maharashtra polls between 7 am and 6 pm with the average of about 58 lakh votes polled per hour. "Going by these average trends, nearly 116 lakh voters could have voted in the last two hours. Therefore, casting of 65 lakhs votes by electors in two hours is much below the average hourly voting trends," poll panel sources said.
Polling agents appointed by candidates/political parties were present at every polling station including those from Indian National Congress (INC), it stated. Neither the INC candidates nor their authorised agents are learnt to have raised any "substantiated allegations" with regards to any kind of "abnormal voting at the time of scrutiny before the Returning Officer and the Election Observers on the next day", the ECI sources said.
On repeated suspicions being raised over additions in the Maharashtra electoral roll, the ECI underlined that every electoral roll, including in Maharashtra, was prepared as per the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 and its final copy was handed over to all the national/state political parties, including INC to allow room for appeal or to contest an entry. However, on finalisation of the electoral rolls for Maharashtra, as against 9,77,90,752 electors, only 89 appeals were filed before the First Appellate Authority (DM ) and only one appeal was filed before the Second Appellate Authority (CEO). "It is clear that there was no grievance of INC or any political parties before the 2024 Maharashtra elections," ECI said. It has brought home the system of booth-level agents, appointed by all political parties to ensure fairness of poll processes.
In Maharashtra, during the revision of electoral rolls, against 1,00,427 polling booths, around 1,03,727 booth-level agents were appointed by all political parties; 27,099 of these were deployed by INC. "Therefore, these unsubstantiated allegations raised against the electoral rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law... The ECI had brought out all these facts in its reply to INC on 24 December 2024, available on ECI's website. It appears that all these facts are being ignored while raising such issues again and again," the poll panel has said.
"Any misinformation being spread by anyone is not only a sign of disrespect towards the law, but brings disrepute to the thousands of representatives appointed by their own political party and demotivates lakhs of election staff who work untiringly and transparently during elections," ECI sources held.
Gandhi, on a visit to the US, again raised questions over the sanctity of the electoral roll in the Maharashtra elections, the large number of voters casting the ballot in later hours and the ECI amending rulebooks to deny it video graphed evidence from polling stations. Gandhi held that "the Election Commission is compromised, and it is very clear that there is something wrong with the system". On Tuesday, ECI sources refuted Gandhi's "unsubstantiated allegations" highlighting six points, the first being how 65 lakh voters could have cast their ballot in the last two hours on voting day. ECI has held that 6,40,87,588 electors voted in the Maharashtra polls between 7 am and 6 pm with the average of about 58 lakh votes polled per hour. "Going by these average trends, nearly 116 lakh voters could have voted in the last two hours. Therefore, casting of 65 lakhs votes by electors in two hours is much below the average hourly voting trends," poll panel sources said.
Polling agents appointed by candidates/political parties were present at every polling station including those from Indian National Congress (INC), it stated. Neither the INC candidates nor their authorised agents are learnt to have raised any "substantiated allegations" with regards to any kind of "abnormal voting at the time of scrutiny before the Returning Officer and the Election Observers on the next day", the ECI sources said.
On repeated suspicions being raised over additions in the Maharashtra electoral roll, the ECI underlined that every electoral roll, including in Maharashtra, was prepared as per the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 and its final copy was handed over to all the national/state political parties, including INC to allow room for appeal or to contest an entry. However, on finalisation of the electoral rolls for Maharashtra, as against 9,77,90,752 electors, only 89 appeals were filed before the First Appellate Authority (DM ) and only one appeal was filed before the Second Appellate Authority (CEO). "It is clear that there was no grievance of INC or any political parties before the 2024 Maharashtra elections," ECI said. It has brought home the system of booth-level agents, appointed by all political parties to ensure fairness of poll processes.
In Maharashtra, during the revision of electoral rolls, against 1,00,427 polling booths, around 1,03,727 booth-level agents were appointed by all political parties; 27,099 of these were deployed by INC. "Therefore, these unsubstantiated allegations raised against the electoral rolls of Maharashtra are an affront to the rule of law... The ECI had brought out all these facts in its reply to INC on 24 December 2024, available on ECI's website. It appears that all these facts are being ignored while raising such issues again and again," the poll panel has said.
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