Congress leader Karan Singh Dalal. File photo | Photo credit: Akhilesh Kumar
The chairman of the Congress fact-finding committee, which probed the details of the party’s defeat in the Haryana assembly polls, on Monday (December 23, 2024) alleged discrepancies in electronic voting machines (EVMs) during vote counting. An interim report was published.
“Even before the polls, all the polls were in favor of the Congress and the atmosphere in the state was in its favor. But the result was the opposite,” said a senior party official and chairman of the eight-member committee. Karan Singh Dalal told reporters here.
Dalal also trained his guns on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which had “misused” government institutions to its advantage.
The BJP returned to power for a third consecutive term, winning 48 seats. Congress won by 37 votes.
Dalal claimed, “An issue was registered with the Congress where the EVM batteries remained charged to 99 per cent and there was also a delay in counting.”
“Detailed analysis revealed discrepancies in EVM voting at various booths. Increase in votes in areas where the BJP won by a narrow margin and in Panchkula and Charki Dadri districts after polls ended. The increase in EVM votes of 10.52% and 11.48% respectively is another serious indicator,” he claimed.
“All these indications indicate that there was some serious manipulation,” he said. “…The Election Commission of India’s actions are out of control and lack transparency. Its approach is lazy,” Dalal said.
The Congress raised several allegations immediately after the results were released, but the EC later dismissed the allegations raised by the Congress citing “rigging” in the polls. The party said that, as in the past, there was a “general cloud of doubt” about the credibility of the overall election results.
Dalal added: “The data, coupled with the ECI’s non-compliance with its legal obligations, suggests that there are significant discrepancies in the number of votes cast and published immediately and the following day…” he added. The fact that the EVM has been tampered with or the EVM has been modified/replaced makes the entire exercise unreliable/suspicious. He also questioned why the EC website only lists the percentage of votes received and not the total number of votes cast by candidates.
issued – December 24, 2024 9:51 AM IST
