The Election Commission of India (ECI) sources have firmly rejected allegations of vote mismatches and possible rigging in the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections, describing claims of large gaps between votes cast and votes counted as based on a basic misreading of official records.
Referring to assertions that in seats such as Badkhal, the number of votes polled far exceeded those counted on electronic voting machines (EVMs), ECI sources pointed to the commission’s Assembly constituency (AC)-wise voters information for the 2024 Haryana poll. Accordingly, in Badkhal (AC 87), the records list 3,32,253 total electors. Of these, 1,60,553 electors voted, delivering a poll percentage of 48.32. After postal rejections (26), EVM rejected votes (543) and NOTA (1,509), exactly 1,58,475 valid votes were recorded.
The figures align completely; the widely circulated “3.32 lakh votes polled” figure is simply the total number of voters on the electoral rolls, not the number who voted. The biggest such discrepancy is in Maharashtra’s Mumbai North Parliamentary constituency, reports said.
stemmed from a basic error While ECI sources clarified that claims of a massive mismatch in Mumbai North. Valid votes matched the polled figures after routine deductions for NOTA and rejections. No discrepancy exists between votes polled and votes counted. ECI sources pointed out that minor differences between electors who voted and final valid votes are routine and legally accounted for—voters who enter the booth but do not vote, invalidated postal ballots, or test votes.
Reports alleged, total votes polled were 18.11 lakh in the constituency, but according to the result declared by the Commission, 10.33 lakh votes were cast in the constituency, according to the ECI’s internal records. This means, a whopping 7.78 lakh votes, 42.8 per cent of the votes polled, were not counted on the EVMs. The constituency had 18.12 lakh registered electors on the rolls. Of these, 10.33 lakh actually voted, recording a turnout of about 57 per cent.
The widely cited “18.11 lakh votes polled” figure was simply the total number of electors, not the votes cast.
