Congress leaders submit 20 complaints to EC over Haryana Election Results: ’Response was good smile and...’

Several Congress leaders met Election Commission of India officials on Wednesday to submit 20 complaints, including issues with electronic voting machines (EVMs) and a delay in counting of votes during the Haryana Assembly Elections 2024.

After meeting officials, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "We met the Election Commission officials and presented the documents of seven assembly constituencies..." He said the Election Commission made “aware about the 20 complaints – seven written complaints – that we have received from seven constituencies.” In all, 20 complaints were received from 20 different assembly constituencies in Haryana

Khera claimed that the EC official's "reaction, as usual, was a good smile and a good cup of tea but we need more." He added, “The Election Commission has assured us that they will look into this matter and they will reply to us after consulting their returning officers from each constituency.”

He said that more complaints from 13 other assembly constituencies will be submitted to the commission in the next 48 hours. "There were issues regarding the batteries of the machines, raised by our candidates. We have asked for a reply from the ECI after conducting the investigation...," Khera said.

The Congress also demanded that the machines under question should be sealed and secured until the investigation is complete.

What did the Congress allege?

Bhupinder Hooda, former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader, said, “We have received many complaints. The counting of votes was delayed in several places. The Election Commission has assured us that they are looking into all the complaints...”

He said when the counting of postal ballots started, the Congress was leading everywhere, but when the counting of EVMs started, the Congress was lagging behind.

Besides, a Congress press release highlighted a "glaring discrepancy" during the counting of votes in the Haryana Assembly Elections. It mentioned the “issue of inconsistencies between EVMs within the same constituency”.

"As per the INC [Congress] Candidates, some EVMs used for counting on 08.10.2024, were operating at 99% battery capacity, while other EVMs were operating at 60-70% battery capacity. In fact, in some cases, this discrepancy was discovered in EVMs used in the same polling station," the Congress alleged.

The party added, "The inconsistencies reported on significant number of seats and lack of explanation or response from the respective electoral, raises a genuine apprehension."

‘Surprising’ results in Haryana

Bhupinder Hooda said the results of Haryana were "surprising because everyone thought that the Congress will form the government in Haryana".

"Be it IB, experts, survey reports, but what happened was that when the counting of postal ballots started, the Congress was leading everywhere, but when the counting of EVMs started, the Congress was lagging behind," Hooda said.

The Haryana election results were declared on Tuesday, October 8. The BJP scored a historic win by winning 48 of the total 90 assembly seats in Haryana, while the Congress won 37 seats. The official results defied the exit poll results which had predicted a clean sweep by the Congress.