General Election 2024: YSRCP urges EC to release booth-wise polling results immediately

Guntur: A delegation of  YSRCP comprising of former ministers Ambati Rambabu and Merugu Nagarjuna, MLC Lella Appireddy and other leaders has met the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Andhra Pradesh Vivek Yadav at Secretariat here on Tuesday and urged  to publish Form 20s, which includes polling booth-wise results for the recently concluded General Election 2024 in the state. 

The YSRCP delegation noted that despite the completion of the election and vote counting, polling details have not been made available in the required format. YSRCP highlighted inconsistencies in polling percentages announced at various stages of the election. 

According to press notes released by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the polling percentage in Andhra Pradesh was recorded as 68.12% at 8 PM on 13th May 2024, 76.50% by 11:45 PM the same night, and later revised to 80.66% on 17th May 2024. However, YSRCP stated that the actual votes counted on Election Day surpassed these figures, reaching over 82%.

The delegation also reminded the CEO of a formal request for the voting percentage information submitted on 10th June 2024, for which no response has been received to date. YSRCP called for immediate action from the CEO and the Election Commission to publish Form 20s and resolve the inconsistencies in the reported polling data.

In a separate submission, YSRCP has requested the Election Commission to provide certain clarifications, particularly in light of the absence of Form 20 details, which would normally provide such data. 

YSRCP has sought a detailed breakdown of the percentage of votes polled in each Assembly Constituency and each Parliamentary Constituency segment at different times—up to 8 PM (68.12%) and up to 11:45 PM (76.50%) on May 13th, 2024. The party has asked for information on the number of votes polled in each constituency after the official polling hours ended at 4 PM, 5 PM, or 6 PM, as per the Election Notification.

YSRCP has requested the names and numbers of polling stations where voting was allowed after the official closing time and clarification on how many voters were still in queue when polling was extended. In the absence of Form 20 details, the party has also requested clarification on the final number of votes polled in each Assembly Constituency and Parliamentary Constituency segment based on the Election Day counting records.

Addressing the media after the meeting at the Secretariat, Former Minister Ambati Rambabu mentioned that several institutions, including "Vote for Democracy," had raised doubts about the conduct of the elections, strengthening their suspicions on election results. He emphasized that it was the Election Commission’s responsibility to clear these doubts and ensure transparency. 

Former Minister Merugu Nagarjuna expressed further concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission, noting that despite the increased reported voter turnout, the Election Commission had still not provided data for all 175 constituencies. He also highlighted issues with VVPAT-EVM mismatches and the security of EVM storage.