The Congress party has raised concerns over an unexplained slowdown in the updating of election results on the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) website, particularly between 9 am and 11 am today, as results of the Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections are being declared.
In an urgent letter addressed to the Election Commission, the Congress has expressed alarm over delays in the display of up-to-date results, suggesting that this could lead to confusion and misrepresentation of the actual trends.
The ECI website is designed to provide timely updates on both trends and victories in the election results. However, the Congress alleged that the information on the site is lagging, with only two confirmed victories in Haryana and eight in Jammu and Kashmir announced so far, despite ongoing counting at the centres. Meanwhile, various media outlets and reporters at counting centres have been offering quicker updates than those available on the official site.
Concerns have been raised over the potential for such delays to foster misinformation and allow for manipulation of narratives, particularly on social media. The Congress fears that these narratives could influence ongoing counting processes in various centres, where results are yet to be finalised. The party's alarm has grown after it initially led in Haryana’s postal ballots but is now trailing in the state.
Although Haryana was not explicitly mentioned in the letter, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who signed the letter, noted in a separate social media post that the issue was indeed connected to the state. He urged the Election Commission to ensure that the website provides accurate and timely figures to prevent the spread of false information and counter misleading narratives.
The Congress has also drawn parallels to similar delays observed during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, accusing the BJP of potentially using outdated and misleading trends to exert pressure on the administration. The party has called for the ECI to take immediate action and direct its officials to rectify the situation in order to safeguard the integrity of the counting process.