According to the poll panel data, the first phase of voting witnessed 66.14 per cent turnout, which is about 4 percentage points lower than the first phase in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Similarly, the second phase saw a voter turnout of 66.71 percent, which marks a decline of about 3 percentage points compared to the 2019 elections.
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General elections are being conducted in seven phases. The remaining five legs are scheduled on May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. Counting of votes will take place on June 4.
‘Percentage meaningless’
Opposition parties including Congress, CPI(M) and TMC have questioned the delay of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in publishing the final polling numbers of the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury expressed concern about the absence of complete voter count in each parliamentary constituency. He questioned why this important information was not provided, saying that “the percentage is meaningless unless the figure is known.” Yechury expressed fears of possible manipulation of the election results and emphasized that the total voter count could be changed during the counting process.
Yechury said, “The total number of voters in each constituency till 2014 was always available on the ECI website, the ECI should be transparent and put this data out.”
‘Unusual and worrying’
Activist-politician Yogendra Yadav also expressed concern over the delay in releasing the final voting percentage figures, calling it “abnormal and worrying”.
“I have watched and studied Indian elections for 35 years. While a difference of 3 to 5% points between preliminary (polling day evening) and final polling figures was not unusual, we used to get the final data within 24 hours,” Yogendra said. Yadav, who has also been an election analyst, said in a post on X.
Yadav also questioned the non-disclosure of the number of voters and votes for each constituency and its segments.
Before the numbers were released, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it was important for the ECI to be timely and transparent about all election-related data and it should come out with the data and make it public.
“For the first time, even 11 days after the first phase of voting and four days after the second phase, the final voting percentage has not been published by the ECI. Earlier, the ECI used to publish the final voting percentage immediately after the voting or within 24 hours. “Only estimated voting figures are available on the ECI website, what is the reason for this delay,” he asked in a post on Twitter.
About 5% jump. and final voting
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien pointed to a 5 per cent increase in the figures released on Tuesday compared to the figures shared earlier after the completion of phase 2 voting on April 26. “Is this normal? What am I missing here?” O’Brien asked.
While elections were held on 102 seats in the first phase, voting was held on 88 seats in the second phase. After voting ended, the Election Commission said the “estimated turnout” for the first phase on 19 April was 60 percent, and 60.96 percent for the second phase on 26 April. However, the official final data released on Tuesday showed that voting for the first phase was 66.14 percent, and for the second phase, it was 66.71 percent.
In comments before the data was released, O’Brien had accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to destroy the Election Commission of India by changing the rules for the appointment of the CEC and election commissioners.
Also read: Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress makes last attempt to convince Rahul, Priyanka to contest elections in Amethi, Rae Bareli
O’Brien was referring to the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which governs the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
The bill, passed by Parliament last year, provides for the appointment of the CEC and election commissioners by a panel except the Chief Justice of India, who was part of the panel as per the procedure before the new bill.
The law provides for a selection committee chaired by the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a Union Minister to make recommendations to the President for the appointment of the CEC and Election Commissioners.
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Published: May 01, 2024, 12:16 PM IST
