New Delhi: As many as 50.72 crore people of the 76.41 crore eligible voters have cast their vote in the first five phases of the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Saturday even as it came out with the constituency-wise data on the number of votes cast in these phases of the polls.
Details Revealed By The Data
The data showed that 11 crore voters out of 16.64 crore total electors cast their vote in the first phase held on April 19 for 102 seats, the polling percentage being 66.14. In the second phase held on April 26 for 88 seats, the polling percentage was 66.71 with 10.58 crore people out of the total 15.86 crore eligible voters casting their vote. The third phase of the polls on May 7 for 94 seats saw as many as 11.32 crores of the 17.24 crore eligible voters exercising their franchise, a polling percentage of 65.68, while in the fourth phase of the polls on May 13 for 96 seats, as many as 12.25 crores voters out of the total of 17.71 crore electors cast their votes, with the polling percentage being 66.71. In the fifth phase of the polls on May 20 for 49 seats, the polling percentage was 62.20 as 5.57 crore of the 8.96 crore eligible voters exercised their franchise.
The poll panel also said there is a pattern in creating false narratives and mischievous designs to vitiate the electoral process, and asserted that any alteration in the number of votes polled is not possible. The poll panel came out with the absolute number of voters on its own a day after the Supreme Court refused to issue directions to it on an NGO's plea for uploading the polling booth-wise voter turnout data on its website.
About The 'Absolute Numbers' In Elections
The ECI has decided to further expand the format of the turnout data to include the absolute number of voters in every constituency. The absolute numbers are discernable constituency-wise by all citizens by applying the turnout percentage to the total number of electors, both already made available in the public domain, the poll panel said.
Demand To Make The Actual Number Of Voters In Every Phase Public
This has come against the backdrop of demands to make the actual number of voters in every phase public, though the ECI has been issuing the turnout percentage. The poll panel referred to the apprehension expressed by some opposition parties that the turnout data can be fudged and said the process of collection and storage of the votes polled is rigorous, transparent, and participative.
The entire exercise of releasing the turnout data from the date of commencement of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19 has been accurate, consistent, and in accordance with election laws and without any discrepancy whatsoever, it said.
The final list of electors is given to the candidates after the list of the contesting candidates is finalised, the ECI said.
Authorised agents of all candidates will have form 17C (the document that records the booth-wise data of the votes polled) across the 543 seats distinctively for each of the approximately 10.5 lakh polling stations, it underlined.
The total number of votes polled in a constituency, as recorded in form 17C, can never be changed even by anyone's hypothetical mischief, as it is available with all the contesting candidates, it said.
Agents of the candidates are always allowed to accompany the electronic voting machines and statutory papers, including form 17C, from the polling station till those are stored in a strong room, it noted.
The candidates or their agents bring a copy of form 17C to the counting centre and compare it with the result in each round. The voter turnout data was always available on the app. The commission underlines that there has been no delay in the release of the voter turnout data, the ECI said.
