New Delhi: In a shocking claim, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said there were discrepancies in the number of votes polled and the number of votes counted in as many as 538 constituencies of the total 543 where Parliamentary elections were held in May this year.
The poll rights body, which had flagged serious lapses in the elections in 2019 General Elections also, has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) demanding to know the reasons behind the discrepancies it found after analysing the poll body's own data.
The ADR on Thursday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, expressing concerns over the alleged discrepancies in Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes during the 2024 elections and sought their response.
Addressing a press conference Monday, the ADR said after the analysis of the ECI data it found that a total of 5,54,598 votes counted is less than the votes polled in 362 parliamentary constituencies, while a total of 35,093 votes have been counted in excess of votes polled in 176 constituencies.
In its letter to the Election Commission, the ADR also cited the petition it had filed in the Supreme Court of India seeking a directive to the ECI to stop announcing results based on provisional data before a thorough reconciliation. The petition cited the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where results were announced based on estimated data.
"Despite the Supreme Court issuing notices to the ECI and the Union of India in December 2019, no substantial action was taken", the ADR said.
The letter calls for immediate action from the ECI to address these discrepancies and ensure public trust in the electoral process. "Each and every vote is important and must be accounted for," the letter said, urging the ECI to explain the reasons behind the inconsistencies.
ADR has also requested the ECI to inform it of any steps or actions taken in light of the findings. It has emphasised the necessity for the ECI, as a Constitutional body, to uphold the integrity of free and fair elections in India.
The ADR revelations comes a week after Maharashtra based NGO Vote for Democracy (VFD) claimed ‘Vote Manipulation’ and ‘Misconduct during Voting and Counting’.
The VFD has also sent 'notice' to the Election Commission of India. The poll body however is yet to respond to these claims.
[With inputs from PTI.]
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