The Congress party on Thursday decided to form a technical team to investigate complaints and alleged irregularities related to EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) in the Haryana Assembly elections. The decision was taken after a meeting held by the party in Delhi, where the election results were discussed. In the Haryana elections, Congress won only 37 seats, which proved to be a setback for the party.
Earlier, the Congress on Wednesday had demanded a probe into the “irregularities” found in the EVMs which came to light during the counting of votes. Party leaders demanded that these EVMs be sealed and kept safe until the investigation is completed. A delegation of senior party leaders met top officials of the Election Commission.
Those who met included former chief ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ashok Gehlot, AICC members KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken and Pawan Khera along with Haryana Congress president Uday Bhan. During this meeting, he submitted a memorandum regarding specific complaints received from various constituencies of Haryana.
The party claimed that at least 20 complaints had been received, of which seven were formally written complaints. In several complaints, it was alleged that the battery capacity of some EVMs remained up to 99 per cent, while the average EVM capacity was only between 60 to 70 per cent.
Congress described these “blatant anomalies” as a serious issue in the Haryana elections and demanded an investigation by the Election Commission. The party noted in its memorandum that counting of votes should be done in a fair, transparent and accountable manner, so that the electoral process adheres to the principles of fair elections and level playing field as enshrined in the Constitution.
