Amid the Congress meeting, chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, begins in the aftermath of the Haryana Assembly Elections 2024, sources on Thursday (October 10) revealed that state party chief Udai Bhan and senior Congress leader Bhupinder S. Hooda were asked to submit a list of seats where EVMs were allegedly tampered with.
Sources mentioned that Garhi Sampla-Kiloi seat-winning candidate Bhupinder Singh Hooda is currently preparing the list of 20 seats where the Congress has alleged EVM tampering. "Hooda is preparing the list right now and will arrive at the meeting with it," the sources added.
It is pertinent to note that earlier, speaking to the media after the announcement of the assembly results, which marked a third consecutive major win for the BJP in Haryana, Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda complained of EVM tampering across the state.
He said, "The result of Haryana is very surprising. According to the surveys conducted by all the agencies, Congress was going to form the government in Haryana, but the results that came were very shocking."
"There have been complaints from many districts of Haryana that EVMs have been tampered with and counting has been delayed at many places. We have complained about this to the Election Commission," he added.
Significantly, state party chief Udai Bhan too has reiterated the EVM tampering complaint by Hooda and other party leaders. He mentioned that the election commission should take immediate cognizance of the matter so that the truth can be revealed. "We have informed the Election Commission about all the complaints. Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini himself had said that we have completed all the arrangements and we will form the government. Therefore, the batteries of 99% of EVM machines used in the elections have become a cause of suspicion."
"We had asked the returning officer in many Assembly constituencies to match the VVPAT slips, which was not done. The Election Commission should put this matter before the public so that the truth can be revealed," he added.
Moreover, in the aftermath of the allegations by the Congress leaders, ECI on Wednesday wrote to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and agreed to meet the party delegation to review the election outcome. "The Commission has meanwhile noted the statements from your good self and the Leader of Opposition, which have termed the Haryana results as unexpected, and that the INC proposes to analyze the same and approach the ECI with its complaints/grievances," the EC wrote to Kharge.
"Proceeding on a fair assumption that the statement of the Party President is the formal party position on the electoral outcome, the ECI has agreed to meet the delegation today at 6 pm," the EC said in the letter.
The EC also dubbed the 'Haryana results unacceptable' statement of senior Congress leaders as "unheard in the rich democratic heritage" of the country and far from a legitimate part of free speech.
