New Delhi, April 23: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a detailed clarification regarding the transparency and fairness of the recently held Maharashtra Assembly Elections, terming the allegations as baseless and unsubstantiated.
1. The ECI stated that a total of 6,40,87,588 electors cast their votes from 7 AM to 6 PM. On average, about 58 lakh votes were polled per hour, and by that trend, 116 lakh voters could have voted in the last two hours. Hence, the casting of 65 lakh votes during the last two hours falls well below the average hourly voting trend, countering any claims of abnormal voting.
2. It further emphasized that voting at every polling booth occurred in the presence of polling agents appointed by the candidates and political parties. The Indian National Congress (INC) or their authorized agents did not raise any substantiated objections about irregular voting during the scrutiny before the Returning Officer (RO) and Election Observers the following day.
3. The Electoral Rolls are prepared in compliance with the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. These rolls undergo Special Summary Revisions before elections and a final copy is handed to all recognized political parties, including the INC.
4. Regarding grievances related to the rolls, the ECI pointed out that only 89 appeals were filed before the 1st Appellate Authority (District Magistrate) and only 1 appeal was filed before the 2nd Appellate Authority (Chief Electoral Officer) out of 9,77,90,752 electors, indicating no major discontent from any political party, including INC, before the elections.
5. The Commission underlined that during the revision of rolls, a total of 1,00,427 polling booths were staffed with 97,325 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and 1,03,727 Booth Level Agents appointed by all political parties—including 27,099 by INC. Allegations against the electoral rolls, therefore, are seen as an affront to the rule of law.
6. The ECI noted that these facts were communicated to the INC on December 24, 2024, and the reply is available on the ECI’s official website. It asserted that ignoring these facts and raising the same issues repeatedly is misleading.
The Commission reiterated that all Indian elections are conducted as per the law, and the scale and precision with which they are carried out have gained global recognition. It reminded that the entire election process from roll preparation to polling and counting is conducted by government staff in the presence of party-appointed representatives at every level.
The ECI concluded by stating that spreading misinformation disrespects the law, undermines the credibility of party-appointed representatives, and demoralizes the lakhs of officials who ensure free and fair elections. Blaming the Commission after an unfavorable verdict by voters is absurd and unjustified, it said.
