The voter turnout data for the first two phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections published on April 30 by the Election Commission of India (EC) has led to a fresh row, raising multiple questions and doubts. A section of stakeholders and journalists have questioned why the data was released almost 9-10 after the first phase of polling on April 19. Some even asked why there was a sudden increase in the recorded percentage, compared to the interim data released on the day of voting.
But the real concern is not the delay or increase in the voter turnout data, but rather the format in which the EC is sharing the data with the citizens of this country. The EC should have shared the voter turnout data in absolute numbers and not just in percentages.
Now the question is, why should voter turnout data be in absolute numbers? Because until one gets the absolute numbers or figures of how many votes were polled in a particular constituency, one cannot compare the votes polled numbers with the votes counted numbers as announced in the results. To find out whether the votes polled data is matching with the votes counted data or whether there is any discrepancy, one must have the absolute numbers.
Since the EC is sharing votes polled or voter turnout data percentage of each parliamentary constituency, logically, the Commission must have absolute numbers of the votes polled data. For instance, if a parliamentary constituency has one lakh voters, to say that 60% votes were polled in that constituency, the EC must be having the numbers that 60,000 votes were polled. In simple language, we derive percentages from numbers – and not vice versa. Then why is the EC not sharing absolute numbers with the percentage of voter turnout?
I spoke to a few experts on the issue, including former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who served as Returning Officer in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. He said each Presiding Officer of a polling station compiles the votes polled data at the end of poll and records it in Form 17. The officer hands over the form to the political party representatives on the same day or the next day. He also sends Form 17 to the Returning Officer on the same day or the next day. The Returning Officer compiles the data of all polling stations and sends the final voter turnout numbers to the EC.
Gopinathan said the whole process might take a maximum of 48 hours after polling ends.
Change in the format from 2019
In 2019, I wrote an article for The Quint in which I reported on the discrepancies in the votes polled and votes counted data in 373+ parliamentary constituencies. In this article, I compared the ‘Final Voter Turnout’ data of four phases as uploaded by the EC on their website a few days after polling. Below is the screenshot of the data that the EC uploaded.
The voter turnout data of phases 1 and 2 were uploaded on April 27, 2019 approximately 15 days after the phase 1 polling which was on April 11, and data of phases 3 and 4 were uploaded on May 4, 2019, roughly 10 days after phase 3 polling which was on April 23, 2019. The EC took time to compile the data, which is fair because what matters is the accuracy of the data. As a voter, we care for accuracy of election results and transparency in the election process.
The voter turnout data of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections not just carried the votes polled data in numbers and percentage, but also had a comparison with the voter turnout data of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. As you can see in the document below, it shows the data of printing of the data, and comparison between the 2014 LS elections voter turnout with 2019 LS elections.
Now look at the 2024 LS elections voter turnout data below. It gives parliamentary constituency-wise data of male, female, others and total voter turnout data in percentage. Clearly, the 2019 LS elections data was far more detailed.
Interestingly, after my article in The Quint was published showing discrepancies in the votes polled and votes counted data in the 2019 LS elections, the EC mysteriously withdrew the four-phase voter turnout data from their website. The EC never responded to my questions, sent to them in multiple emails.
But the alarming discrepancies in the votes polled and counted data caught many eyeballs and eventually petitions were filed in the Supreme Court. They recently came up for hearing in April 2024.
During the hearing, the EC responded by saying, “The voter turnout data is dynamic in nature and is uploaded by the ECI on real time approximation by taking inputs from the presiding officers of the polling stations. Inaccuracies were found in the real-time inputs given by the presiding officers. However, there was no mismatch of the data of votes recorded in the EVMs and the data of total votes recorded in Form 17C.”
After the judgment was out, I wrote to the EC on April 27, 2024 seeking answers to these questions:
I never took into consideration the real-time inputs of the votes polled. Rather I downloaded the voter turnout data from their website and from a section that said “Final Voter Turnout”. This data was uploaded almost 10-15 days after the polling days.
Could the EC please explain what data they uploaded in the section ‘Final Voter Turnout’? How can properly compiled data, comparing two LS elections’ voter turnout data, be ‘real-time inputs’? Could the EC also explain what data they first uploaded and then withdrew?
I did not receive any response from the EC in 2019 when I wrote the article, nor have I got the response now. I am hoping to get one response from the EC.
Poonam Agarwal is an independent senior investigative journalist with 20 years’ experience in journalism and an advocate. She is the founder of ExplainX YouTube Channel.