Poll panel refused to publish booth-wise voting data: AAP

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal addressing the media at party office
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

On the eve of the counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly election, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged that the Election Commission (EC) refused to upload Form 17C and the number of votes polled per booth in each Assembly constituency on its official website despite repeated requests.

Form 17C records the number of votes cast at each polling booth and is signed by the presiding officer and polling agents.

The AAP chief said his party has created a website to share booth-wise voting data from Delhi. “AAP has launched a website – http://transparentelections.in – where we have uploaded the Form 17Cs of every Assembly. This form has all the details of votes polled in each booth. We will present the data for every Assembly and booth in a tabulated format so that every voter can access this information. This is something that the EC should have done in the interest of transparency, but, unfortunately, they are refusing to do it,” Mr. Kejriwal said in a post on X.

Responding to the allegations, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer posted a statement on X, “As per Rule 49S of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, all presiding officers furnished the account of votes recorded in Form 17C to every polling agent present at the polling stations on the day of polling.”

AAP leader Gopal Rai, meanwhile, said the party is confident of a decisive victory by securing more than 50 seats.

‘Decisive victory’

“The feedback from candidates clearly indicates that AAP is set to win more than 50 seats, with 7-8 seats witnessing tough competition,” he said, adding that Mr. Kejriwal held a meeting with all 70 candidates.

Accusing the BJP of attempting to manipulate public perception through exit polls, Mr. Rai said, “Through exit polls, the BJP is trying to spread a narrative that they are forming the government.” He also alleged that the BJP is running ‘Operation Lotus’ by using exit polls as a psychological tool to exert pressure on AAP candidates.

“Kejriwalji instructed all candidates to prepare for the counting of votes with the same determination they showed during the election,” Mr. Rai added.