Farakka (WB)/New Delhi:Day after the Congress had taken a swipe at Election Commission for the delay in releasing the poll figures, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday also criticised the EC for the "delay" in releasing the final voter turnout figures for the initial two phases of the Lok Sabha polls.
She also expressed concern over the sudden increase in polling percentages during those phases. The commission made public the voter turnout of the first two phases of polling, which were held on April 19 and April 26, on Tuesday evening. According to the EC, a voter turnout of 66.14 per cent was recorded in the first and 66.71 per cent in the second phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
"The sudden jump in final voter turnout by nearly 5.75 per cent from what the Election Commission had released earlier is worrying. There are apprehensions of manipulation of results by the BJP as several EVMs were missing for a long period," she said while addressing a rally at Farakka in Murshidabad district.
The TMC supremo stated that the sudden increase in poll percentage is not just "disturbing" but also raises "serious apprehensions about the credibility of EVMs". "The details of EVM makers should be made public by the Election Commission as the BJP can stoop to any level to win elections," she said.
BJP says opposition in panic
Meanwhile, BJP said there was panic in the opposition alliance as the NDA is set to win over 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, which is why they were questioning the election commission.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said the opposition's INDIA bloc is infected by a virus and the "vaccine" for it is the country's citizens, whose verdict on June 4 will silence its leaders. They will be seen nowhere, he said, claiming that people will reaffirm their trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Noting that the Supreme Court recently rejected pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with VVPAT, an independent vote verification system, Bhatia said the problem is not with the EC or the EVM but with the opposition. The BJP spokesperson also accused the opposition alliance for making communal statements.
Voting for the general elections is being held in seven phases, with the remaining phases scheduled for May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.
EC did not release the total number of voters
The Election Commission released the final voter turnout of phase 1 and 2 on Tuesday but did not share the total number of voters in each constituency. Polling was held in 102 constituencies on April 19 under Phase 1, while 88 seats went to the polls on April 26 in Phase 2. As per the EC, Phase 1 saw a turnout of 66.14%, and Phase 2 66.7%.
The Opposition questioned why the date on number of voters was not released by the Commission. (With agency inputs)
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