The Trinamool Congress has urged Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to “urgently furnish” the constituency-wise voter turnout in absolute numbers for the first two phases of Lok Sabha polls and also sought an explanation over the “delay” in releasing the figures. 

Various Opposition parties have alleged that the ECI delayed the sharing voter turnout data, while the poll body last Friday asserted that booth-wise data of “actual number of votes polled” is available with the candidates soon after the voting ends. 

In a letter addressed to the CEC, the TMC said the poll panel released the voter turnout percentage for the first two phases “belatedly” on April 30, but the report had no information about the total figure of eligible electors and the number of actual votes cast.

“This is a paradigm shift from the previous voter turnout report(s) from past election(s), where the ECI provided a detailed report in this regard,” the party said. It claimed the report also exhibits notable discrepancies and inconsistencies in the percentages that were initially given.

In the letter, the TMC mentioned certain polling stations where the presiding officer “omitted” the provision for giving the number of voters who physically came to cast their votes as per the ‘Register for Voters’. 

The TMC said “discrepancies” in Form 17C are “indicative of the rampant disregard and lackadaisical attitude with which the ECI is proceeding to conduct the ensuing elections”. “It also suggests the possibility of similar occurrences in other booths, which raises serious concerns about the accuracy of voter turnout percentages reported and published by the ECI. The ECI’s failure to address such discrepancies would undermine the public trust in the electoral process,” it said.

The TMC demanded that the ECI publish the total number of registered electors in each seat, the total number of voters physically turned up as per the ‘Register for Voters’, and the number of voters as per the EVM, for all constituencies which had gone to polls in phases one and two.

“Urgently furnish the Parliamentary constituency-wise precise voter turnout figures for phases one and two of the ensuing general elections to Lok Sabha, 2024, along with an explanation and clarification for the delay in releasing the voter turnout report dated 30.04.2024, without disclosing/revealing the details of the total number of voter turnout (in figures) and the total number of eligible electors for the said phases,” it said.

It also sought that a detailed report should be published after the completion of polling in each of the upcoming phases. – PTI