New Delhi:
The Election Commission on Tuesday slammed the Congress for making “baseless allegations… when faced with painful election results”. Procedural irregularities during Haryana's polls – held between October 8 and 10 and again on October 14 – have come under fire after repeated claims by the Congress that despite a huge early lead, the Bharatiya Janata Party The party lost.
In a scathing statement, the EC rejected the Congress's claims – specifically “an inexplicable delay in updating the (Haryana election) results” by two hours on the day of counting – October 8.
The Election Commission warned the Congress and other political parties against making “baseless and sensational complaints” during elections, including when votes are cast and then counted.
“Irresponsible…”: EC slams Congress.
“Irresponsible allegations can lead to public unrest, turmoil and chaos,” the EC said, and urged the Congress to “take strong and concrete steps and curb (this) trend of frivolous complaints”.
“Every step in the election process in Haryana was flawless and was carried out under the supervision of Congress candidates or agents,” the EC pointed out in a 1,600-page formal reply.
The document contains a point-by-point rebuttal to each of the Congress' complaints, from demands for clarification on the battery status of counting units (CUs) in electronic voting machines (EVMs) to “intentional voting”. Counting and uploading data to the EC website slows down.
On concerns about the battery, the EC said the voltage and capacity display is “irrelevant to the vote counting functionality and integrity of the EVM”. “The battery status displayed on the CU only helps the technical teams to monitor the power level… to ensure smooth operation during polling,” the EC said.
That the level of battery could influence voting results was dismissed as “baseless”.
The EC said it had forwarded all Congress complaints to ROs, or returning officers, and that each official had submitted reports confirming the conduct of fair elections. It also noted that the complaints were “very common… as if the candidates filed under some 'common' direction”.
The Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana also rejected the Congress's claims.
Haryana Election: What Happened?
On October 8 – when it became clear that the Congress' early lead was gone and the BJP was poised for a storming comeback victory – the party filed a complaint against “bad faith actors”.
Congress red-flagged concerns that incorrect, or delayed trends for some seats “can then be used by these nefarious (bad faith) actors to influence processes where counting is still underway…”
The EC then immediately hit back and dismissed the Congress's “baseless” concerns.
Read on “Reject your attempt…”: Poll body on Congress's Haryana claim
The polling panel said it “unequivocally rejects your attempt to covertly give credence to irresponsible, baseless and unsubstantiated misrepresentations”.
A day later, the Election Commission again criticized the Congress.
Read on “Can't accept verdict”: Congress doubts over Haryana count
This came after the party, in an unprecedented move, said it could not accept the verdict of the Haryana assembly elections. Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said, “The Haryana results are unexpected, surprising and counterproductive… It is not possible for us to accept the results.”
Read on “Unheard of in a democracy”: EC on Congress's Haryana remarks
The EC said the Congress's statement on the verdict was “unheard of” in the country's rich democratic heritage and far from a legitimate part of freedom of expression.
The BJP retained control of Haryana by winning 48 of the state's 90 assembly seats. The Congress won 37, with the remaining five split between Indian National Lok Dal and independent candidates.
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