New Delhi: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the main opposition party in Odisha after decades of rule there, has formally raised concerns with the Election Commission of India (ECI), citing “serious discrepancies” in the data related to votes polled and counted during the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections. This comes six months after the party faced its first electoral defeat since its inception.
In a formal letter submitted to the EC on Monday, December 23, the BJD highlighted several categories of anomalies, demanding a response to clarify doubts among the people of Odisha and political parties. The party stated that while it respects the ECI, the discrepancies it has identified warrant serious attention and could potentially undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
This is not the first time a political party has raised such concerns.
On December 3, a Congress party delegation met with the EC to highlight “discrepancies” in the recently held Maharashtra assembly elections. In a memorandum submitted to the EC, the party pointed out an unprecedented increase in the number of voters within the five-month period between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, along with glaring inconsistencies in voter turnout data.
The BJD’s concerns were centred around the following points.
Discrepancies between votes polled and votes counted at the booth level
The BJD pointed out that there are significant variances between Form 17-C, filled by the presiding officer at the close of polls (recording total votes polled), and Form 20, filled by the returning officer on counting day (recording total votes counted from the same EVM). The party clarified that Form 17C is filled up in front of the polling agents after the close of polls and the EVM is sealed in front of them after Form 17C has been filled up.
The letter cited specific examples, such as Booth 57 of 84-Phulbani assembly constituency (reserved for the Scheduled Tribe), where the difference is 682 votes, and Booth 165 and 219 of 08-Talsara assembly constituency (ST) where the differences are 660 and 784 respectively.
“How is this possible?” the party asked in its letter to the ECI, further emphasising that the total number of votes counted by the returning officer should not differ from the report of votes polled by the presiding officer when EVMs are used.
According to the BJD, these variances, which have also raised questions about the integrity of the whole process, could impact election results if collated across all booths. The BJD has also alleged that despite requests under the Right to Information Act and the Representation of People’s Act, copies of Form 17-C have not been provided to it.
“We had asked all districts to supply the copies of Form 17-C, but despite repeated requests, even after the statutory period for retention of documents was long over, we have still not received it,” the party said.
Inconsistencies in total votes between parliamentary constituencies and their constituent assembly segments
The BJD noted that in simultaneous elections, the total number of votes polled in a parliamentary constituency (PC) and the sum of votes polled in its constituent assembly constituencies (ACs) should be identical or very similar. The party argues that it is highly improbable that a voter will enter a booth and vote only for the parliament candidate and not for the assembly candidate or vice versa, and these instances are also recorded in Form 17C. The party also stated that across all 21 PCs in Odisha, there is a huge discrepancy seen between votes counted in a PC and its constituent ACs.
The letter stated that the 2024 Odisha elections show wide discrepancies across all 21 PCs, ranging from a difference of 4,056 votes in Dhenkanal PC to 3,521 votes in Kandhamal PC, and 2,701 votes in Balangir PC. The BJD highlighted a discrepancy of 677 votes in the Jajpur PC, where the election results were decided by a margin of only 2000 votes. “In the 2024 election, across all 21 Parliamentary constituencies, there is a huge discrepancy seen between votes counted in a PC [parliamentary constituencies] and its constituent ACs [assembly constituencies],” the party said.
Table 1:
An analysis of these inconsistencies shows major vote count differences between parliamentary and assembly levels. At the parliamentary level, the highest excess is 3,448 votes, while the largest deficit is -3,837 votes – creating a total range of 7,285 votes. On average, parliamentary-level counts show 623.9 more votes, with a standard deviation of 1,652.87 votes indicating wide variation. The median difference of 677 votes suggests a slight positive skew. The high variance of 2,731,987.49 points to significant inconsistencies across constituencies.
These discrepancies may result from administrative errors, delayed reporting, or data entry mistakes during the simultaneous elections. Given the scale of these variations, a thorough investigation is essential to protect electoral integrity and maintain public confidence in the system.
Unprecedented difference in votes polled and votes counted compared to previous elections
The BJD stated that in previous simultaneous elections since 2004, discrepancies between votes polled and counted remained minimal – between 0.5% and 1.5%, never exceeding 2%. However, the 2024 elections showed unprecedented disparities, ranging from 15% to 30%. “How can there be a discrepancy of more than 30% now?” the party asked. This is also said to have been noted by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), according to the letter.
Moreover, the BJD questioned the methodology used by the ECI in updating the final polling percentage. While an approximate percentage is provided at the close of polls at 5 pm, and then again at 11:45 pm of the poll day, the final polling data was released after two days.
The party noted that the increase in voting percentage between the 11.45 pm figure and the final tally is unprecedented and needs an explanation from the ECI. “In fact, the most shocking discrepancies are when there is a huge increase in voting percentage between the data published at 11.45 pm (night) on polling day and the final data published by ECI after two days. Is it possible that voting at this scale happens after 11.45 pm of the polling day?” the party stated in its letter.
Table 2:
It highlighted that in the Keonjhar AC, from where the current chief minister of Odisha Mohan Charan Majhi contested, the difference between the voting percentage at close of poll and the end of poll was 30.64%.
Additionally, the difference between the voting percentage at 11.45 pm (night) of the poll day and the final percentage published by EC after two days is 10% in the same AC. “This difference is the highest in the country, perhaps the highest ever in the country’s electoral history,” BJD’s Rajya Sabha MPs said.
Analysis of these differences reveals striking anomalies. Voting percentage differences range from 3.53% to 30.64%, creating a substantial spread of 27.11%. The mean difference of 13.31% shows a significant departure from voter turnout patterns in previous elections. With the median at 13.45% closely matching the mean, the distribution appears symmetrical. Yet, a variance of 24.88 and standard deviation of 4.99% point to considerable fluctuations across constituencies.
These variations could stem from operational inefficiencies, vote-counting challenges, or unusual voting patterns during simultaneous elections – issues that only a thorough EC investigation can clarify.
Speaking with reporters after submitting the petition to the ECI, BJD MP Sasmit Patra stated that “This issue is not about victory or defeat only, this is also not about BJP and BJD. This is about strengthening the integrity and transparency of the electoral process in the country.”
He further stated, “The objective of our former CM Naveen Patnaik was not aimed at indulging in mudslinging. Question arises here — if there is a mistake, where is it? CEC must clarify this in a transparent manner.”
Speaking with The Wire, BJD national spokesperson and former Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik asserted that justice should not only be done but also seen to be done. “The people and political parties of Odisha are baffled by these discrepancies that occurred in 2024, and we urge the ECI to seriously consider and respond to our points within a specified timeframe”, he added.
Patnaik clarified that the party has not taken a view on returning to the old ballot system of voting. “We will wait for a reply to our petition on the matter from ECI. If we get more data, as we have pleaded before them, for different booths, then we will be very reasonable to know as to what is the margin or extent of discrepancy across booths. Then the party would be in a position to take a view,” he added.
