– Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi: After its critical analysis of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Vote for Democracy (VFD), a concerned citizens’ advocacy group, has released another damning report alleging serious irregularities in the recently held Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections. The 95-page report warns of potential rigging in the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand state elections, scheduled for November 20.
The report highlights alarming instances of electoral manipulation, unexplained spikes in voter turnout, and a lack of transparency in the election process. It criticises the Election Commission of India (ECI) for its reluctance to release detailed polling data, particularly voter turnout figures, and accuses it of enabling electoral discrepancies.
In Haryana, voter turnout surged by 6.71% between October 5 and October 7, 2024, translating to an additional 1.3 million votes. This increase is neither explained nor consistent with historical voting patterns.
Key districts like Panchkula and Charkhi Dadri reported extraordinary turnout increases exceeding 10%, disproportionately favouring the BJP in tightly contested constituencies.
Instead of providing constituency-level data, the ECI released district-wise vote percentages, hindering meaningful scrutiny.
Last-minute changes to voter turnout figures just hours before the counting began on October 8 suggest deliberate obfuscation.
The report flags anomalies in EVM vote tallies, with unexplained increases in areas like Panchkula (+10.52%) and Charkhi Dadri (+11.48%), benefiting the BJP.
The BJP’s success was disproportionately concentrated in 10 districts, where it won 37 of 44 seats, compared to its dismal performance in the remaining 12 districts.
The report suggests manipulated turnout directly influenced outcomes in at least 17 constituencies with victory margins under 5,000 votes.
Overall, the BJP is alleged to have gained an additional 24 seats in Haryana through turnout manipulation.
Similar patterns were observed in Jammu & Kashmir, where sudden spikes in voter turnout percentages raised questions about the fairness of the electoral process.
VFD demands the ECI publish booth-wise raw vote counts instead of percentages to eliminate rounding errors and ensure transparency.
These forms, which provide real-time vote tallies, should be publicly disclosed to allow candidates and citizens to verify election outcomes.
Measures such as VVPAT verification, booth-wise queue data, video monitoring, and accountability from polling officers must be enforced.
VFD calls for a neutral inquiry into the alleged irregularities in Haryana and J&K elections. The findings should be made public to restore faith in the electoral system.
The report draws parallels to similar discrepancies during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, reinforcing suspicions of systemic manipulation under the ECI’s watch.
As Maharashtra and Jharkhand prepare for polls, the VFD warns of potential rigging unless stringent transparency measures are implemented. Ensuring the integrity of the electoral process is critical to safeguarding democracy and upholding voter confidence.
VFD highlights that if electoral outcomes are influenced by irregularities or corrupt practices, Articles 324-326 of the Constitution – governing free and fair elections – are violated. The ECI’s mandate under Article 324 extends beyond organising elections to ensuring the purity of the entire electoral process.
The report underscores the urgent need for electoral reforms and accountability from the ECI. It emphasises that the integrity of India’s democratic process must not be compromised by opaque practices or data manipulation.
For the full report, visit Vote for Democracy’s official website.
