‘Surprising...’: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Questions ECI’s Priority In Voter Turnout Row

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday asserted that it is surprising to see the Election Commission responding to a letter written by him to the leaders of the INDIA-bloc but choosing to ignore several complaints Kharge raised directly to the ECI. 

Earlier, in a letter addressed to the CEC and several election commissioners, Kharge pointed out the electoral committee's lack of prompt action in addressing the overtly communal and caste-driven remarks made by leaders of the governing party. 

Reacting to the letter by the Congress president expressing concerns regarding the delay in disclosing the voter turnout for the two phases of Lok Sabha polls, the Commission said that it is an attempt to promote a prejudiced narrative under the pretext of seeking clarifications. 

Kharge responded to the EC’s remark and said that the letter was clearly addressed to the alliance leaders and not the commission. 

"It is surprising that the Election Commission of India wanted to respond to this letter while ignoring several other complaints given directly to it. I have certain misgivings about the language of the letter, but I will not press on that issue as I understand the pressures they are working under," reported PTI, citing Kharge’s letter sent to the EC on Saturday. 

He said that while the EC letter says that it respects citizens’ right to inquire, on the other hand, it "threatens citizens in the form of an advice to exercise caution." 

Kharge said, "I am happy that the Commission understands that it has the mandate to conduct smooth, free, and fair elections under the constitution. However, the lack of urgency shown by the Commission in acting against blatantly communal and casteist statements being made by the leaders of the ruling party that vitiate the electoral process seems puzzling," reported PTI. 

In a five-page reply containing several annexures, the election commission dismissed accusations of mismanagement and tardiness in disclosing voter turnout statistics for the initial two phases of the Lok Sabha elections. It labelled Kharge's allegations as unwarranted," " "without facts," and "reflective of a biased and deliberate attempt to spread confusion".  

In the letter, the Congress leader mentioned that, besides delaying voter turnout, the ECI did not mention several crucial data points, such as votes cast in each parliamentary constituency and their corresponding assembly constituencies. 

Opposition leaders on Friday met with senior officials of the Election Commission to address concerns over voter turnout statistics and complaints about the violations of the model code by leaders of the ruling party.