EC Pulls Up Kharge, Accuses Him of Obstructing Lok Sabha Polls Through 'Baseless Allegations'

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI), on Friday, dismissed the charges of mismanagement and delay of voter turnout data in the middle of the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha Elections levelled by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. 

The EC, in a sharp rebuke to the veteran Congress leader, said the allegations by the latter were 'unwarranted' and 'without facts.' Reacting to Kharge's letter to allies on voter turnout data, the EC said irresponsible statements from Congress were 'disconcerting' and that Kharge's letter to Opposition leaders on voter turnout data was an attempt to push a 'biased narrative.' 

ANI quoted EC by saying, "Baseless allegations regarding the release of voter turnout data in the middle of ongoing polls are designed to create confusion, misdirection and impediments in the conduct of free and fair polls. Utterances can have negative impact on voters’ participation and demoralize the large election machinery across states."

In a five-page response with annexures, the poll panel rejected charges of mismanagement and delay in the release of voter turnout data and termed Kharge's allegations 'reflective of a biased and deliberate attempt to spread confusion.'

The commission condemned Kharge's statement in which he wondered whether the delay in releasing voter turnout data was an 'attempt to doctor the final results.'

The poll panel said it found Kharge's letter, placed in the public domain in the middle of the ongoing electoral process, 'highly undesirable' and designed to create confusion, misdirection and impediment to the conduct of smooth, free and fair elections.

"Through innuendos and insinuations, the contents of the post, tend to create disharmony in respect of the delicate space of election management, can plant doubts in the minds of voters and political parties and potentially created an anarchic situation, when you said 'could this be an attempt to doctor the final results?' which this Commission hopes you do not have any intention of," the EC said. (with PTI inputs)