Bhubaneswar, Feb 3 The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) engaged in a war of words over the quality and credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, BJD leaders alleged that despite meeting the Election Commission of India (ECI) twice and submitting written representations over alleged irregularities in the 2024 elections, several key questions still remain unanswered.
Senior BJD leader and party President Naveen Patnaik's Political Secretary, Santrupt Misra, said the party was raising the issues not with any political motive but as a responsible political organisation committed to strengthening democracy.
He claimed that discrepancies were found in several places between votes polled and votes counted, prompting the BJD to seek copies of Form 17C, which contains booth-wise data of votes polled.
However, the ECI declined to provide the documents, citing pending election-related cases in certain constituencies.
Misra asked why Form 17C could not be provided for other constituencies when election cases were pending in only 28 seats.
He also sought clarification on instances where the number of votes counted exceeded those polled.
The BJD noted that the ECI stated votes are not counted where figures in the control unit do not match Form 17C, but did not disclose how many such cases occurred.
Misra said denying a citizen's vote due to official errors violates voting rights.
He also added that when faulty EVMs are replaced during polling, no data is shared on votes cast before the malfunction.
He also questioned the unexplained rise in vote figures after the scheduled polling ending time of 5 p.m.
In the 2024 elections, all 21 Parliamentary and as many as 38 Assembly constituencies in Odisha recorded a 7 to 30 per cent increase in vote figures, a trend not seen in previous polls.
Meanwhile, the BJP targeted the BJD, saying that after getting rejected by the people of Odisha, the party's leaders are making false statements to conceal their frustration.
Senior BJP leader Biranchi Narayan Tripathy said that Opposition BJD has raised issues related to EVMs and Form 17C long after the elections ended.
He added that since the introduction of EVMs in the country, the BJD has won four out of the five elections held thereafter and never questioned the voting machines while in power.
Tripathy also said that the BJD should answer why the party is now making false claims of irregularities after it lost the elections this time.
He added that during polling, party agents collect Form 17C from presiding officers.
He said that in the 2024 general elections, there were around 37,800 polling booths, implying the presence of an equal number of BJD polling agents.
Considering both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, nearly 75,000 agents should have been deployed at the polling booths.
However, no polling agent of the BJD raised any complaint about not receiving Form 17C then.
The BJP leader added that it is for the people of Odisha to decide whether raising such questions after the defeat is appropriate.
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