He said that postal ballots, which largely represent soldiers, senior citizens, essential service workers, and government employees, 'generally align with the overall voter sentiment in their constituencies'
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Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) legislator Varun Sardesai on Monday claimed that the trends in postal ballots and electronic voting machine (EVM) results of the Maharashtra Assembly polls appear "inconsistent", raising doubts about the integrity of the EVM system.
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According to news agency PTI, Sardesai, who defeated Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Zeeshan Siddique to win the Vandre East Assembly seat in the debut contest, also claimed a suspicious spike in voter turnout during the final two hours of polling and demanded a reply from the Election Commission.
Sardesai, in a press conference in Mumbai, claimed that "statistical anomalies" were observed in the Election Commission's official data, and called for greater transparency and accountability.
"While I am not making direct allegations, the data raises several doubts that must be addressed," he said, according to PTI.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also claimed that that postal ballots, which largely represent soldiers, senior citizens, essential service workers, and government employees, "generally align with the overall voter sentiment in their constituencies".
"Trends in postal ballots were consistent with EVM results in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections (when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) parties won 30 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra). However, in the assembly elections, a striking divergence was observed," Sardesai said.
'MVA candidates saw 5-15 per cent decline in votes from postal to EVM results'
Citing an example, Sardesai said that MVA was leading in 31 constituencies througout the postal ballot counting, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti was ahead in 16 constituencies. "Yet, the final EVM results showed MVA securing only 46 seats, while the Mahayuti tally surged to 230 seats [in Maharashtra Assembly polls]," he said, according to PTI.
Sardesai further claimed that his party leader Aaditya Thackeray received 874 postal votes and 62,450 EVM votes from the Worli Constituency in Mumbai, while Milind Deora, who was the Mahayuti candidate, secured 522 postal votes and 54,001 EVM votes.
According to Sardesai, this "pattern" extended beyond Shiv Sena (UBT).
"Congress leader Nana Patole was ahead by 54 per cent in postal ballots but saw a sharp 12.7 per cent drop in EVM counts," stated Sardesai.
He also claimed that Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Jayant Patil, who had 70 per cent of postal votes, experienced an 18 per cent decline in EVM results. According to Sardesai, this trend was never observed in the previous elections.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also mentioned the Kolhapur South, Tivsa, and Ghatkopar East constituencies where MVA candidates "leading in postal ballots saw significant drops in EVM counts."
"How is it possible that in almost every case, MVA candidates experienced a 5 to 15 per cent decline in votes from postal to EVM results, while Mahayuti candidates saw an equivalent rise? This raises serious doubts about the integrity of the EVM system," he said, appealing to the Election Commission to "address these issues", stating that its "primary responsibility is to ensure free and fair elections."
"Why were the trends seen in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections so dramatically different in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections? Any doubts in the electoral process must be resolved to maintain public confidence," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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