'Can't accept verdict': Congress raises doubts over Haryana counting
What's the story
The Congress expressed that the election results in Haryana are both unexpected and shocking, asserting that they cannot accept the outcome following a sudden shift from early leads in their favor to a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Earlier in the day, the party had raised concerns with the Election Commission of India about an "unexplained slowdown" in the update of election results for Haryana, highlighting their dissatisfaction with the transparency of the process.
Delay allegations
Congress alleges 'unexplained slowdown' in result updates
In a letter to the ECI, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised concern that this delay could potentially allow "bad-faith actors" to spin narratives undermining the electoral process.
He also suggested that such narratives could influence ongoing counting processes.
The ECI dismissed these allegations, saying that approximately 25 rounds across all constituencies were being updated every five minutes.
EC's response
ECI dismisses Congress's allegations
The ECI further said it "unequivocally rejects your (Ramesh's) attempt to surreptitiously give credence to irresponsible, unfounded and uncorroborated malafide narratives."
At a press conference, Ramesh reiterated his party's stance, saying the results were "totally unexpected" and "completely surprising."
He added these results contradicted what the people of Haryana had decided, which was for change and transformation.
EVM concerns
Congress reports 'serious complaints' about counting process
Ramesh also revealed that the Congress had received "very serious complaints" about the counting process and the functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in at least three districts in Haryana.
Echoing Ramesh's concerns, Congress leader Pawan Khera said there were continuous complaints from their candidates in Hisar, Mahendragarh, and Panipat districts.
He alleged discrepancies in machines with different battery levels showing varying results for their candidates.
ECI's rebuttal
ECI refutes Congress's allegations of result update slowdown
The ECI rejected the Congress party's complaint over a slowdown in updating Haryana's results on its website.
The poll body said, "There is nothing on record to substantiate your ill-founded allegation of the slowdown in updating of results."
It added that the Congress's memorandum didn't provide any contrary facts about delays at any constituencies in Haryana or Jammu and Kashmir.