No vote-count mismatch in 2024 Haryana polls, says ECI amid rigging allegations
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected allegations of vote-count mismatches and possible rigging in the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections, saying the claims rest on a basic confusion between total registered electors and the number of votes actually cast.
According to ECI sources, allegations that constituencies such as Badkhal recorded far more votes than were counted on electronic voting machines (EVMs) misinterpret the Commission’s Assembly constituency-wise voter data. The “3.32 lakh votes polled” figure cited in reports is, in fact, the total number of registered electors in Badkhal—not votes cast.
In Badkhal (AC 87), the official record lists 3,32,253 electors. Of these, 1,60,553 voted, translating to a turnout of 48.32 per cent. After 26 rejected postal ballots, 543 rejected EVM votes and 1,509 NOTA votes, the constituency recorded 1,58,475 valid votes.
The ECI said the figures reconcile completely once routine deductions are accounted for. The alleged gap arises only when the total electoral roll is wrongly treated as the number of votes polled.
Similar explanations apply to the other constituencies cited in the allegations. In Ellenabad (AC 46), 1,95,868 electors were registered, 1,58,707 voted and 1,57,909 valid votes were declared after 253 rejected postal ballots and 545 NOTA votes.
In Gurgaon (AC 77), 4,43,593 electors were on the rolls, 2,30,147 voted and 2,29,029 valid votes were recorded. In Badshahpur (AC 76), 5,21,969 electors yielded 2,83,131 votes polled and 2,80,482 valid votes. In Kalka (AC 1), 2,02,394 electors produced 1,45,961 votes polled and 1,45,220 valid votes.
The small difference between votes polled and valid votes reflects standard deductions, including rejected postal ballots, rejected EVM votes and NOTA.
Statewide, Haryana had 2,04,63,841 electors, of whom 1,39,13,879 voted, yielding an overall turnout of 67.99 per cent. Valid votes totalled 1,38,37,980 after rejections and NOTA. The ECI said these figures are drawn from authenticated returns filed by Returning Officers.
The Commission also dismissed the reported mismatch in Maharashtra’s Mumbai North parliamentary constituency. Reports had alleged that 18.11 lakh votes were polled there, while only 10.33 lakh were counted on EVMs, leaving 7.78 lakh votes—or 42.8 per cent—uncounted.
ECI sources said the 18.12 lakh figure was the constituency’s total registered electorate, not its votes cast. Of that electorate, 10,33,267 voters actually voted, recording a turnout of about 60.44 per cent. The declared result’s valid votes matched the votes polled after routine deductions.
The Commission said minor differences between electors who voted and final valid votes are routine and legally accounted for, including voters who enter a booth but do not cast a vote, invalidated postal ballots and test votes. It added that any large, unexplained gap would trigger statutory scrutiny under the Conduct of Election Rules, but said no such gap exists in the Haryana data.
ECI sources reiterated that primary records, including Form 17C, remain the authoritative source. Secondary analyses that equate total electors with votes polled, they said, create artificial discrepancies. Constituency-level data remains publicly available through official ECI channels for verification.
The Commission maintained that claims of systemic rigging or lakhs of uncounted votes in the 2024 Haryana polls are contradicted by its audited official figures.
(Inputs from IANS)