Election Commission Invites Congress To Air Concerns On Maharashtra Polling Discrepancies

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has invited the Congress party for discussions on Tuesday regarding alleged poll discrepancies.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

Source : PTI

The Election Commission of India has accepted the Congress's memorandum on poll discrepancies and invited the party for discussions on Tuesday, December 3. The ECI in its interim response to the Congress said that it wants a transparent process with the involvement of candidates and their agents at every stage.

The ECI has also assured that it would review all legitimate concerns of the Congress and provide a written response after hearing them in person. The ECI also said that it is transparent in the electoral roll updation process with the involvement of political parties. The Commission has still assured the Congress of further review of all its legitimate concerns.

The Election Commission (EC) has responded to Congress' complaints regarding the Maharashtra polls. It has granted a meeting on December 3 to hear the party's concerns in person. The EC stated that all political parties were provided with draft electoral rolls, and defended the… pic.twitter.com/uukibcNtCB

— IANS (@ians_india) November 30, 2024

The Congress, in the memorandum submitted to the ECI on Friday, raised two primary issues — the "arbitrary deletion of voters and subsequent addition of over 10,000 voters in each constituency from the final voter lists" and "inexplicable increase in voting percentages from 5:00 PM to the final voter percentage declared by the Election Commission at 11:30 PM on the day of polling".

Sharad Pawar Says Discrepancies In EVM Vote Numbers, BJP Calls Him 'Liar'

The development comes at a time when the NCP-Sharad Pawar and the BJP are engaged in a verbal duel over the use of EVMs for elections. While Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that there are differences in the votes polled and turnout, the BJP called him a liar.

NCP-SP president Sharad Pawar said: "There is some difference in the votes of EVMs, but at the moment I do not have any proof. Some people have demanded recounting. Whatever is possible in this matter will be done. Some people have applied for recounting."

He further claimed that for the first time, elections have made people very "restless". "There is disappointment among the people. Every day at 11:00 AM, the opposition leaders raise questions in the Parliament. They put forward their point but their demands are not being accepted in the Parliament. This clearly means that Parliamentary democracy is not being followed properly," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

#WATCH | Mumbai: On the statement of NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule says, "When Sharad Pawar won the elections in 2017, he appreciated the working of EVM...In 2014, when his daughter NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule and other MPs won the (Lok… pic.twitter.com/ZKiD8ZNsjj

— ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2024

The BJP hit back saying, Sharad Pawar did not oppose EVMs when his daughter Supriya Sule won the elections. "He is lying... When Sharad Pawar won the elections in 2017, he appreciated the working of EVM...In 2014, when his daughter NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule and other MPs won the (Lok Sabha) elections, he said nothing [about EVMs]," Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said.