Congress Raises Concerns With Election Commission Over Website Update Delays

On Tuesday, a delegation of Congress leaders met with the Election Commission of India (ECI) to express concerns about delays in updating the ECI website as the counting of votes for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections continued. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi reported that the ECI assured there would be no further delays.

Singhvi stated, “We received reports from state units and candidates that after 2:30 PM, there was a delay in updates on the ECI website. Our second concern was the lack of updates based on parliamentary constituencies.” After the meeting, he emphasized that the Congress had not made any allegations but merely requested timely updates, to which the ECI responded positively, assuring that delays would be addressed.

Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid noted that the Congress delegation had a detailed discussion with the ECI, particularly addressing complaints raised by Jairam Ramesh. Khurshid stated, “We don’t want to escalate the matter further after the detailed discussion.”

Earlier in the day, Congress accused district officers in Uttar Pradesh of being pressured to ensure specific candidates’ victories. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh warned administrative officers that such actions would not be tolerated, as the “government is changing” and this “mockery of democracy” must end. In a post on X, Ramesh alleged, “District officials are being pressured in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj, Bansgaon, Meerut, and Muzaffarnagar seats to secure wins for certain candidates. Administrative officers should remember that the government is changing, and this mockery of democracy will not be accepted.”

Ramesh also pointed out delays in vote counting in several seats across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, questioning the ECI’s handling of the process in another post on X: “Why is there such a delay in counting on so many seats in UP and Bihar @ECISVEEP? It is completely abnormal.”

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Meanwhile, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) crossed the majority mark in early leads, ahead on approximately 300 seats, while the INDIA bloc defied predictions by leading on over 230 seats. Most exit polls had projected a straightforward victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with some predicting a two-thirds majority for the BJP-led NDA.

In response to the initial trends, Ramesh urged Prime Minister Modi to resign, citing “moral responsibility” as the BJP lagged behind the majority mark. He highlighted that early trends showed Prime Minister Modi trailing Congress’ Ajay Rai in Varanasi, describing it as a “moral and political defeat.”

However, the latest data from the Election Commission of India showed Prime Minister Modi leading against Ajay Rai by a margin of 152,513 votes.

Following their meeting with ECI officials, the Congress delegation, led by Singhvi, submitted a memorandum concerning the delays in vote counting in some constituencies in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The memorandum emphasized the need for the ECI to ensure no unreasonable delays in the counting process. “We have received reports that over the past 1 to 1.5 hours, several parliamentary constituencies across the country have witnessed an overall slowdown in the counting process. Despite objections raised by our party agents, workers, and candidates, officers are not addressing our concerns,” the memorandum stated.

Singhvi reiterated that the Congress had not made any allegations but sought directives to prevent delays. He noted that the ECI provided a respectful hearing and agreed to issue instructions to ensure a smooth counting process.