Votes cast in 6 seconds, post-midnight voting: Experts flag ‘unusual patterns’ in 2024 Andhra polls
If EVMs take 14 seconds to reset, how were votes recorded in 6 seconds: Parakala Prabhakar
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New Delhi: Citing data on the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, experts including economist Parakala Prabhakar at a conference here on Tuesday, March 31 pointed to “unusual patterns,” including 17 lakh votes cast after midnight and ballots recorded within six seconds.
The conference titled “challenges to electoral integrity: examining recent evidence of electoral manipulations,” was organised by Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, and was attended by Parakala Prabhakar, S. Y. Quraishi, Prashant Bhushan, Rajesh Mahapatra and Yogendra Yadav.
According to a report by India Today, Parakala Prabhakar also alleged that polling continued till 2 am across around 3,500 booths, even as the NDA led by Chandrababu Naidu secured a sweeping mandate winning 164 of the 175 seats.
Citing the data Prabhakar called it a ‘troubling picture.’
According to Prabhakar, a significant portion of votes appeared to have been cast late into the night.
“There are indications that polling went on till around 2 am in nearly 3,500 booths,” he said.
He explained that the data showed a noticeable rise in votes during late hours. “About 4.16% of the total votes were recorded between 11:45 pm and 2 am,” he added.
According to him “nearly 52 lakh votes were polled between 8 pm and 2 am, and more than 17 lakh votes were cast after midnight alone."
He further pointed to the speed at which votes were allegedly recorded during this period.
“One vote appears to have been cast every 20 seconds after midnight,” he said.
Raising questions over the functioning of voting machines, he added, “if EVMs take around 14 seconds to reset, how were votes being recorded in as little as 6 seconds? Is it practically possible for a voter to enter, vote, and exit within that time?”
“Something unusual seems to have happened after 8 pm,” he remarked.
The elections resulted in a decisive victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The alliance secured 164 out of 175 seats, with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) winning 135 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) eight seats, and Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party securing 21 seats.
Meanwhile, concerns over voter turnout figures had also been raised earlier by opposition and other experts.
According to the report, on the day of polling, May 13, 2024, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer initially announced a turnout of 68.04% at 5 pm. Later in the evening, the Election Commission of India (ECI) put the figure at 68.12% at 8 pm. By 11:45 pm, the turnout was revised to 76.50%. The final turnout, released four days later, was recorded at 81.79%.
However, sources from the Election Commission of India responded to the allegations by stating that legal options were available to address any discrepancies during the election process.
“The law provides clear remedies if any candidate or party finds discrepancies. Appeals can be filed or the matter can be taken to court, but none of these options were used in Andhra Pradesh,” India Today reported citing sources.
“Raising such data two years after the election is unconstitutional,” sources added.
lack of transparency in how election data is shared: Prashant Bhushan
At the same press conference, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan raised concerns about transparency in the election process. He questioned why detailed booth-level data had not been made easily accessible.
“There appears to be a lack of transparency in how election data is shared,” he said.
He pointed out that Form 17C, which contains details of votes polled at each booth, had not been made publicly available in a usable format.
“When such data is not accessible, independent verification becomes difficult,” he noted.
He further stressed the importance of transparency in a democratic system.
“Resistance to transparency suggests a deeper institutional issue. Democracy cannot function without openness,” he said.
He also called for additional safeguards to improve trust in the process. “There should be mandatory counting of VVPAT slips to ensure credibility,” he added.
Bhushan also highlighting the absence of certain key records, said “there is no public record of voters who were in queue after polling hours, and no real-time access to booth-level data.” He also stated warning that such gaps could allow large-scale issues to go unnoticed.
Former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi also supported the demand for closer scrutiny of election records.
“There should be an audit of documents such as Form 17C and Form 20,” he said.
“If Form 17C is signed and sealed at the booth level, why do differences appear later in the compiled data?” he asked.
Suggesting steps to improve transparency in future elections, Quraishi said, “polling percentages should be disclosed on the same day, and booth-level summaries should be released immediately.”
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
