New Delhi: The Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), an organization dedicated to electoral and political reforms, has reported a significant discrepancy of nearly six lakh votes between those recorded by Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and those counted in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The ADR highlighted that this inconsistency involved 362 constituencies where approximately 5.5 lakh votes, recorded by EVMs, were not counted. Additionally, around 35,000 more votes were counted than recorded in 176 seats.

Key Findings and Claims

ADR founder Jagdeep Chhokar told NDTV, “The Election Commission’s own figures show there is a difference between the number of votes cast and those counted in 538 Lok Sabha constituencies.” Chhokar emphasized the need for the Election Commission to publicly explain the reason for this discrepancy.

This issue is not new. Similar discrepancies were reported during the 2019 elections, leading ADR to file a petition in the Supreme Court, which has yet to be heard. The Election Commission has not yet responded to the recent claims.

Options for Disgruntled Candidates

Despite the discrepancies, the Election Commission has provided candidates with options to re-check vote counts. This includes selecting machines from any polling station within a constituency for a mock poll and VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) slip count. According to the Election Commission, eight such applications have been received.

Detailed Analysis of Discrepancies

1. More Votes Counted than Polled: In 176 constituencies, discrepancies ranged from one to 3,811 votes. However, in each of these cases, the winning margin was significantly larger than the discrepancy.
2. Fewer Votes Counted than Polled: In 362 constituencies, discrepancies ranged from one to 16,791 votes. Although these variances were significant, they likely would not have changed the election results in most cases.

Notable Constituencies with Close Margins

Five constituencies had a difference between the winning margin and the ‘uncounted’ votes of less than 1,300. These constituencies include:

1. Three seats won by the BJP (in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan)
2. One seat won by the Congress (in Punjab)
3. One seat won by the Samajwadi Party (in Uttar Pradesh)

Consistent Constituencies

According to ADR, only four constituencies had no discrepancies between votes polled and votes counted:

1. Amreli in Gujarat (won by the BJP’s Bharatbhai Manubhai Sutariya)
2. Attingal in Kerala (won by the Congress’ Adoor Prakash)
3. Lakshadweep (won by the Congress’ Muhammed Hamdullah Sayeed)
4. Daman and Diu (won by an independent candidate)

The ADR’s findings highlight significant issues in the vote-counting process of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, raising questions about the integrity of the electoral process. With discrepancies impacting a substantial number of constituencies, the call for transparency and accountability from the Election Commission is growing louder. The outcome of the petition filed in the Supreme Court and the responses from the Election Commission will be crucial in addressing these concerns and ensuring the credibility of India’s democratic processes.