Congress calls Haryana poll results ‘unacceptable, counter-intuitive’

Haryana poll results: Congress alleged slow election data update on ECI website. The poll panel termed these charges as “ill-founded allegations”

The Congress on Tuesday said it refuses to accept the results of the Haryana assembly elections, after it failed to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from getting a third straight term in power.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh(HT_PRINT)

“The results in Haryana are totally unexpected, completely surprising and counter-intuitive. It goes against ground reality. It goes against what the people of Haryana had made their minds up for, which was for change and transformation. I think under these circumstances, it is not possible for us to accept the results that have been announced today,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said at a briefing. 

Continuing his charge, Ramesh said,"We have received very serious complaints on the process of counting, the functioning of EVMs in at least three districts. There are more that are coming in. We have spoken to our senior colleagues in Haryana and this information is being collected." 

“We hope to present this in a consolidated form to the Election Commission tomorrow or the day after. We will seek time...Serious questions have been raised by our candidates. We will bring it to the notice of the Election Commission and what we have seen today in Haryana is a victory for manipulation, a victory for subverting the will of the people and it is a defeat for transparent democratic processes,” he added. 

Congress leader Pawan Khera said,"The results are totally unexpected and we would even say that they are unacceptable. The kind of complaints that are continuously coming in. There are continuous complaints about our candidate from three districts, Hisar, Mahendragarh and Panipat." 

“Complaints are continuously coming about how some batteries of machines that were 99% showed us losing and in the machines which were not touched, whose batteries were 60-70% shows our candidate winning,” he added.

EC's response to Cong complaints

Earlier in the day, the Congress had complained with the poll panel, alleging that there was slowdown in updation of assembly election results data on the ECI website. 

The ECI in its response said,"With reference to your today's Memorandum regarding the slowdown in updating the results of Haryana on the ECI Website, it is reiterated that the entire counting process in Haryana and J-K is unfolding in the presence of candidates, observers and micro-observers as per the Statutory scheme." 

“There is nothing on record to substantiate your ill-founded allegation of the slowdown in updating of results. Your Memorandum also does not bring out any contrary facts as to the delay at any of the constituencies in Haryana or J&K,” the poll panel added.