Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 29: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday rejected Congress’ allegations of “irregularities” in the recently-concluded Haryana Assembly elections as “baseless, misplaced and devoid of facts” cautioning the party against raising the smoke of “generic” doubts when faced with inconvenient election results.
Earlier this month, the Congress wrote to the ECI seeking clarification on perceived lack of clarity on display of 99 per cent battery status on the Control Units of the EVMs a day after counting in some polling stations in at least 26 constituencies. The ECI said the allegations were “baseless, misplaced and devoid of facts” and said it was “least expected” of a national political party.
Warning the grand old party against making “baseless allegations” election after election, the ECI said, “ECI is duty bound to protect and defend the integrity of the core design of this statutory decentralized scheme, that is being sought to be eroded or duplicated, by “generic” petitions/grievances setting out false narratives without any evidence whatsoever, raised in proximity to polling or counting day, which have serious potential to fuel the surcharged environment,” the poll panel said in a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Congress had made several complaints including allegations of a slowdown in the vote counting process on October 8, the day results of the Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir elections were declared. It had also sought clarification on display of 99% battery status on the control units (CU) of electronic voting machines (EVM), during counting in some polling stations in 26 Haryana Assembly constituencies.
Citing examples in the past one year, the EC accused Congress of “persistently raising unfounded doubts on the core aspects of Indian electoral process, with a sort of discernable pattern of timelines and approach.” The EC warned against “frivolous” and “unfounded doubts” which it said have the potential of creating “turbulence” when crucial steps like polling and counting are in live play, a time when both public and political parties’ anxiousness was peaking.
“The communications carrying baseless allegations were often widely publicized by INC even before receipt of any formal letter in the ECI and mostly coinciding with peak of electoral cycle i.e., near to or on poll day or counting day,” the poll panel said in its scathing letter. “The persistence of this approach is disconcerting when it emanates from a reputed National Political Party of historic standing with those many years of experience in the electoral field.”
“Thus, once again ECI is compelled to note that with no evidence whatsoever of any statutory electoral step being compromised and candidate’s consent to proceed to each next stage being on record; the INC has once again raised the smoke of a “generic” doubt about the credibility of an entire electoral outcome exactly in similar manner as it has done in recent past, of which examples have been given in preceding paras,” the Election Commission stated.
“This is least expected of a national political party. The Commission appreciates the criticality of the considered views of political parties in sustaining and strengthening electoral democracy in the country and assures that it will remain committed towards timely grievance redressal,” it added.
In its 1,642-page response to Congress, the poll body said it collected responses from the Returning Officers of 26 Assembly constituencies who were asked to do re-verification based on the complaints made by Congress. “After a thorough re-verification by Returning officers of all the 26 Assembly Constituencies under question, ECI writes to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge that each step in the electoral process in Haryana was flawless and done under the watch of Congress candidates or agents,” the ECI wrote.
“The replies reflect continuous participation of INC candidates, representatives and their agents in various processes of election, including EVM processes…Total 19 representations do not even mention at what point in time the battery was showing 99 per cent capacity, and how does it have a bearing on results and whether any complaint was made at any stage before declaration of result,” the letter reads.
The electoral body said the persistence of this approach was “disconcerting when it emanates from a reputed national political party of historic standing.” It also rejected the “completely extraneous talk” about battery displays in EVMs and said batter voltage and capacity had no relevance and connection with EVM vote count and operations. “Any insinuation that battery levels affect voting outcomes is preposterous,” it added.
“ECI has strongly cautioned against making false generalisations and irresponsible allegations against EVMs which have time and again withstood the scrutiny in judicial forums and formed the well-acclaimed backbone of India’s large voting system through which diverse political parties have come to power in various elections,” the Commission said, while criticising Congress for highlighting ordinary aspects of EVM functioning as positioning them as new concerns.
It also referenced 42 judgments from Constitutional Courts that have affirmed confidence in EVMs after a thorough examination of various materials. It also called on the Congress to exercise due diligence and refrain from habitual attacks on electoral operations without any evidence. It also recalled the detailed explanations available on its website on why the power pack status sometimes reads 99 per cent even after a full day of polling.
“The Commission sincerely urges INC to take firm and concrete steps, matching with the party’s long and illustrious standing, to amend their afore stated approach and in doing so set an example for emulation by one and all to responsibly conduct themselves at sensitive electoral stages so as to avoid possibilities of precipitation of public unrest and chaos,” it added.
The results of the Haryana Elections on October 8 came as a massive shock to the Congress, which lost to the BJP despite exit polls predicting a return in the state for the grand old party. After the Haryana Assembly election results, Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and other senior party members met the Election Commission officials. They presented a list of 20 complaints, including seven written complaints from specific constituencies.
The Congress raised concerns over discrepancies in EVM battery levels, stating that some machines showed a 99 per cent battery level while others ranged from 60-70 per cent on the day of counting. The party demanded that these machines be sealed and secured until an investigation could be completed.
As Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections on October 15, he had called the allegations on EVM battery “first of its kind” and said it was forcing them to think about what else could come next. Responding to a question, Mr Kumar had said, “Questions have been raised over EVMs in the past too. First some said that a vote cast for one party can go to the other…Now we are wondering what will be the next accusation. It will come for sure, such claims won’t stop.”