Now BJD Complains About Voter Data Discrepancy, Writes to ECI

The row over discrepancy of voter data has not dampened yet. Now the BJD (Biju Janta Dal), Odisha’s main opposition party which ruled in the states for decades has approached the ECI (Election Commission of India) alleging “serious discrepancies” in the data of votes polled and counted during the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

In a formal letter submitted to the ECI on December 23, the BJD pointed out anomalies in several categories and demanded a response to clarify doubts among the people of Odisha and political parties. The party while writing to ECI, stated that it respects the commission, but the discrepancies it has identified warrant serious attention as having the potential to undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

Discrepancies between Votes Polled and Counted

BJD highlighted massive disparities between the polling day figures and the final EVM count. It alleges variations ranging from 15% to 30%, which reflects a stark contrast to the historical variance in the previous elections which stands between 0.5% to 1.5%.

This indicates significant variances between Form 17-C and Form 20. The Form 17-C is filled by the presiding officer at the close of polls signifying the total votes polled, whereas, Form 20 is filled by the returning officer on counting day manifesting the votes counted from the same EVM.

The letter cited some specific examples, one of which is booth 57 of 84-Phulbani assembly constituency (reserved for the ST), where the difference is 682 votes. Similarly, in Booth 165 and 219 of the 08-Talsara assembly constituency (ST), the differences are 660 and 784 respectively.

“We had asked all districts to supply the copies of Form 17-C, but despite repeated requests, even after the statutory period for retention of documents was long over, we have still not received it,” the party said.

BJD asked, “How is this possible” in their letter to the ECI. “These variations raise questions about the integrity of the whole process”—the BJD memorandum that was signed by Debi Prasad Mishra, chairman, BJD coordination committee along with seven RS MPs and party leader Amar Patnaik. 

“We are not casting any aspersions on the ECI, but telling them that they need to give more assurance to the people of the state and people of the country at large on the election process”— Amar Patnaik was quoted to have said to media. 

BJD also highlighted that despite elections for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha being held simultaneously, there remained a huge difference between votes polled for the Parliamentary seats and the assembly segments under the same Lok Sabha seats.

Congress Also Has Raised Similar Allegations

BJD is not alone in raising the voter data discrepancy. Notably, a Congress party delegation met with the ECI to highlight “discrepancies” in the recently held Maharashtra assembly elections on 3^rd December.

 In its memorandum submitted to the ECI, Congress pointed out an unprecedented increase in the number of voters within the five months between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, coupled with stark inconsistencies in voter turnout data.