Rahul's claims on vote manipulation in Haryana unfounded: EC officials

New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) Rahul Gandhi's vote manipulation charge is "unfounded" as no appeals were filed against the electoral rolls in Haryana, Election Commission officials said on Wednesday.

The poll body officials were reacting to Gandhi's claim that 25 lakh entries were "fake" and that the Haryana assembly polls last year were "stolen".

Poll body officials also questioned why Congress' booth agents did not flag voters who had cast vote multiple times in the Haryana assembly elections in October 2024.

"Why were no claims and objections raised by INC's Booth Level Agents during revision to avoid multiple names?" an official said countering Gandhi's allegation.

Booth-level agents or BLAs are appointed by political parties to flag irregularities, if any, in electoral rolls.

Further hitting out at Gandhi, EC officials underlined that "zero appeals" were filed against electoral rolls and only 22 election petitions were currently pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

An election petition can be filed within 45 days of the announcement of results in the high court of that state.

"What were the polling agents of INC doing in the polling stations? They are supposed to object if the elector has already voted or if the polling agents doubt the identity of the elector," the official said.

Referring to EC's efforts to clean up the voters' list across states, officials wondered whether Gandhi is supporting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) which removes duplicate, dead and shifted voters along with verification of citizenship.

"Or is he opposing SIR," an official asked.

"Why were no claims and objections raised by INC’s BLAs during revision to avoid multiple names in Bihar. Why were no claims and objections raised by INC’s BLAs during revision to avoid multiple names in Haryana," the official quipped.

The BJP won 48 seats in the 2024 Haryana assembly polls. The Congress, which was predicted to win by many exit polls, won 37 seats. The INLD won two seats while independent candidates bagged three in the 90-member Assembly.

On the issue of zero house number, they said 'House Number Zero' is also for houses where Panchayat and Municipalities have not given house numbers.

House Number zero has been given by booth-level officers where no house number is allotted by municipalities/panchayats. PTI NAB NAB DV DV