Election commission refutes Cong claims of voter data discrepancies

The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday said that it is not possible to alter the actual voter turnout figures, as detailed information about voter turnout is documented in statutory form 17-C, which is available to the authorized agents of candidates at the time the polls close at each polling station.

- HT Correspondent

CHANDIGARH:

"The Commission is not legally bound to publish any voter turnout data at aggregate level of a constituency, state or phase of election because voter turnout is recorded at polling station level in statutory form 17-C prepared by the presiding officer and signed by polling agents of candidates. The presiding officer provides a true copy of account of votes recorded in form 17-C (part-1) to each polling agent," the Commission said.

The EC's response, which came on a Congress' representation regarding concerns over voter data anomalies for 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls, is also relevant for Haryana considering allegations of "gross mismatch" in the figures of votes polled and counted for the 2024 Haryana assembly polls by a committee headed by Congress leader, Karan Dalal. Dalal, who heads the party committee set up to investigate alleged malpractices and manipulations in polls, had on Monday accused the EC of not being transparent.