ECI rejects Congress accusations of EVM ‘irresponsibility’ in Haryana polls, warns against ‘false generalizations’

The Election Commission of India on Tuesday strongly rejected Congress’ allegations of irregularities in the recently concluded Haryana Assembly elections, calling them “baseless and irrelevant”. In an official statement addressed to the Congress, the ECI also urged the party to refrain from making irresponsible accusations and creating unfounded doubts that could create turbulence, especially at a time when elections and counting of votes are underway.

The poll body has accused the Congress of constantly raising unfounded doubts about “core” aspects of the Indian electoral process, using some kind of clear pattern of timing and approach. It also highlighted the party’s habit of raising “general” doubts about the electoral process, highlighting the need for specific evidence to support such claims.

“The Commission categorically rejects all baseless allegations and concerns raised by the INC regarding all aspects of the electoral process in the recently concluded Haryana Assembly elections,” the ECI said in a statement.

“The Commission generally refrains from responding to complaints relating to decentralized electoral processes in a particular constituency, be it the list of voters or candidates, the placement of people and materials, the conduct of polls or the counting of votes, since officials such as the ERO/RO/DEO, however , ECI has a duty to protect and defend the integrity of the core design of this statutory decentralized scheme which is being sought to be undermined or duplicated through “generic” petitions/complaints making false claims. “any evidence raised on the eve of an election or vote counting day that has serious potential to fuel tensions,” it added.

The ECI also cited five specific instances in the past year where the Congress made similar allegations without evidence and urged the party, known for its decades of political experience, to exercise due diligence and avoid habitual attacks on the electoral process.

The ECI also said that filing such complaints and “unreasonable doubts” could trigger problems in the country. “There is no need to remind that such frivolous and unfounded doubts can create turbulence when important steps like voting and counting of votes are taking place live, at a time when the anxiety of both the public and political parties is at its peak. Messages containing unsubstantiated allegations were often widely circulated by the INC even before receiving any official letter to the ICI and generally coincided with the peak of the election cycle, that is, on the eve or on the day of voting or the day of counting of votes,” the report said.

The ECI has cited the gist of 42 decisions of the Constitutional Courts, which have considered various available materials and expressed their faith in the EVM.

Responding to Congress’ concerns about the EVM battery display, the ECI clarified that battery voltage and capacity are not relevant to the functionality and integrity of the EVM in counting votes. “The battery status displayed on the control unit is only to assist technical teams in monitoring power levels to ensure uninterrupted operation during interrogation,” it said.

During the counting of votes in the Haryana Assembly elections, Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of trying to manipulate the election verdict. He also submitted a memorandum to the ECI, in which he pointed out alleged irregularities in the counting of votes. He, along with Pawan Khera, also argued that EVMs showing 99 per cent battery charge were the ones in which Congress candidates lost, while those with lower battery charge percentage indicated victory for party candidates.

The polling body also dismissed any suggestion that battery levels could affect voting results as preposterous. ECI has published a detailed FAQ on its website on various aspects of using EVM batteries, including battery types, use of alkaline cells, differences between EVM power supplies and mobile phone batteries, EVM functionality regardless of operating voltage, and explanations why the power supply status sometimes shows 99 percent even after a whole day of surveying.