Haryana Assembly Polls 2024: Congress knocks EC door on EVM battery capacity, poll body slams 'unacceptable' remark by leaders

New Delhi: Congress on Wednesday knocked the Election Commission’s door about the “glaring discrepancy” in some Electronic Voting Machines used in Haryana elections, hours after the poll body described party leaders calling the results unacceptable as “unprecedented” and “unheard in the (country’s) rich democratic heritage”.

The EC's strong words against Congress functionaries Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera came in a letter to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge before the party submitted a 31-page memorandum raising complaints from seven seats about some EVMs used for counting were operating at 99% battery capacity while others were operating at 60-70% battery capacity.

While accepting a request from the Congress to allow a delegation to meet the ECs, the poll body wrote to Kharge saying that the time for the meeting had been given presuming that the party chief's position that the Haryana results were “unexpected” is the official position, as against that of some leaders who have said that the  “results are not acceptable”.

“Such an unprecedented statement (by Ramesh and Khera)...unheard in the rich democratic heritage of the country, is far from a legitimate part of free speech and expression and moves towards an undemocratic rejection of the will of the people...,” it said. 

The EC also acknowledged the remarks of  Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi where they described the results as “unexpected” and the party would analyse it and approach the EC with their grievances.

While the party has said that there were complaints from 20 constituencies regarding the EVM, the delegation led by Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal provided the EC with their complaints on seven seats, including  Karnal, Panipat City, Dabwali and Narnaul. 

Khera, who was part of the 12-member delegation, told reporters that they would submit complaints regarding the remaining 13 seats in the next 48 hours.

In its memorandum, the Congress said, “during counting of votes for Haryana Assembly elections, a glaring discrepancy was discovered by the Congress candidates and their respective polling agents. This discrepancy is related to the battery charge/health/capacity of the EVM machines being used during the counting of votes.”

 “In fact, in some cases, this discrepancy was discovered in EVMs used in the same polling station. Immediately upon discovery, the Congress candidates raised this issue before the concerned Returning Officers, however in majority of the places, there was no response...The inconsistencies reported on significant number of seats and lack of explanation or response from the respective electoral, raises a genuine apprehension,” it said.

After the meeting, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda claimed that there are doubts about the counting as Haryana results were surprising. 

"Everyone believed that the Congress would be forming the next government in Haryana. When the counting of postal ballots took place, the Congress was winning, but when the counting of EVMs started, the opposite happened," he said.

Haryana Congress chief Uday Bhan said doubts have been created about the veracity of the counting exercise in Haryana and they should be cleared by the EC while Khera urged the EC to seal and secure the EVMs in question pending the inquiry.

Haryana Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here

J&K Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here

Assembly Elections 2024 | In the first assembly polls since the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and the BJP defeated a rejuvenated and vindicated Opposition in the Haryana assembly polls. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir voted after almost a decade, giving a decisive mandate to the National Conference-Congress alliance. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to never miss out on anything.