Earlier this week, in a letter to leaders of all INDIA bloc parties, Kharge expressed doubts about ECI’s functioning and criticised the panel for not publishing actual voting data
Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday castigated Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for “obstructing” the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections 2024. ECI called the Congress Chief’s statement on voter turnout data an “aggression on vitals of live election operations”. The rebuke came in response to Kharge’s letter to INDIA bloc allies alleging discrepancies in voter turnout data and stating that the ECI’s credibility is at an all-time low.
Taking cognizance of Kharge’s letter, ECI said such “baseless allegations regarding the release of voter turnout data in the middle of ongoing polls are designed to create confusion, misdirection and impediments in the conduct of free and fair polls.”
Utterances can have a negative impact on voters’ participation and demoralize the large election machinery across states, the poll body said.
Calling Kharge’s allegation “insinuations and innuendos”, the commission “categorically rejected Kharge’s contentions.”
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It also refuted any delay in giving turnout data and pointed out that updated turnout data has been always higher than the poll day statistics and backed up the claim by releasing a “factual matrix” of data from elections, beginning with the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
With all facts in place, the Congress President is attempting to push a biased narrative, the commission said.
ECI also rejected charges of mismanagement and delay in the release of turnout data and said Kharge’s allegations are unwarranted, without facts and ‘reflective of a biased and deliberate attempt to spread confusion’.
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KHARGE’S LETTER
On May 7, in a letter to leaders of all INDIA bloc parties, Kharge expressed doubts about ECI’s functioning and criticised the panel for not publishing actual voting data, the delay in releasing poll turnout data, and the non-publication of the final voters’ lists for the upcoming phases. He wondered whether all this was an effort to “doctor” the final results.
Calling all INDIA bloc parties to “collectively, unitedly and unequivocally” raise their voice against such “discrepancies” in a bid to protect the culture of a “vibrant democracy and the Constitution”, the Congress chief said the delay in publishing the final voter turnout statistics have raised doubts on the quality of data due to which the “credibility of ECI is at an all time low”.
The final voter turnout data came 11 days after the first phase and four days after the second phase of the Lok Sabha election, on April 30.
