NEW DELHI, 30 Apr: The Congress, CPI (M) and the TMC on Tuesday questioned the Election Commission over delays in announcing the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls, 11 days after the first round of polling on 19 April.
Voting for the general elections is being held in seven phases. The remaining are on 7, 13, 20 and 25 May, and 1 June. Counting of votes will be taken up on 4 June.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it is essential for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to be timely and transparent about all election-related data, and it should come out with the figures and make them public.
“For the first time, even 11 days after the first phase of the polls and four days after the second phase, the final voter turnout has not been published by the ECI. In the past, ECI used to publish the final voter turnout immediately after voting or within 24 hours. Only approximate polling figures are available on ECI’s website. What accounts for this delay,” he asked in a post on X.
Ramesh said that, additionally, the number of registered voters in each Lok Sabha constituency and the assembly constituencies included in that Lok Sabha constituency is also not available on the commission’s website.
The website only shows the total number of voters in a state and the number of voters in each booth, he said.
“It is essential for the Election Commission of India to be as timely and transparent about all election-related data,” the Congress general secretary said.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien alleged, “(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi got the law changed in Parliament to get his own umpire and destroy the Election Commission.” Now, after two phases, the ECI is yet to disclose final polling data, he said.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, “This is very disturbing. Raises serious apprehensions on manipulation of results.” (PTI)
