EC rejects Congress' allegation over irregularities in Haryana polls

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday categorically rejected allegations made by the Congress party regarding irregularities in the recent Haryana elections, labelling them as "baseless, misplaced, and devoid of facts."

In a letter to the Congress party, the Commission urged them to refrain from making unfounded claims after every election, accusing the party of creating "generic" doubts without substance.

ECI advised Congress to adopt firm measures to curb this tendency, cautioning that irresponsible allegations, especially around sensitive times like polling and counting days, could lead to public unrest, turbulence, and chaos.

Highlighting five specific cases from the past year, the ECI urged the Congress, a national party with significant experience, to exercise due diligence and avoid habitual, evidence-free criticism of electoral operations.

Following a thorough re-verification by Returning Officers of all 26 Assembly Constituencies in question, the ECI wrote to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, affirming that every step in the Haryana electoral process was flawless and conducted under the observation of Congress candidates or their agents.

The Commission's response to the Congress, comprising 1642 pages of evidence, detailed the continuous presence of authorized representatives of Congress candidates at all stages, including battery placement at the time of commissioning and throughout the polling and counting processes.

Addressing Congress's concerns about the EVM battery display, the ECI clarified that the battery voltage and capacity are irrelevant to the EVMs' vote-counting functionality and integrity.

"The battery status displayed on the Control Unit serves only to assist technical teams in monitoring power levels to ensure smooth operation during polling," it said.

The poll body dismissed any suggestion that battery levels could influence voting outcomes as preposterous. Additionally, the ECI has published a detailed FAQ on its website covering various aspects of EVM battery use, including battery types, the use of alkaline cells, differences between EVM power packs and mobile phone batteries, EVM functionality independent of operating voltage, and explanations for why the power pack status sometimes reads 99 per cent even after a full day of polling.

The ECI strongly cautioned against making false generalizations and unfounded allegations against EVMs, which have repeatedly withstood scrutiny in judicial forums and serve as the backbone of India's voting system. The Commission pointed out instances where the Congress has singled out routine aspects of EVM functioning or electoral procedures and cast them as new issues.

Citing 42 judgments from Constitutional Courts that have examined these matters and affirmed faith in EVMs, the ECI reiterated the robustness of India's electronic voting system, which has facilitated diverse political outcomes across elections.

Following the Haryana Assembly election results, Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and other senior party members met with 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.