In ECI meeting, Congress flags 99% battery level in EVMs: ‘We need concrete answers’

Following a meeting with officials from the Election Commission of India (ECI), Congress leader Pawan Khera on Wednesday said they drew the poll body's attention to the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in the recent Haryana Assembly elections.

“We apprised the Election Commission about 20 complaints that have come to us, including seven written complaints from seven constituencies with some EVM machines functioning at 99 per cent battery capacity, while some EVM Machines were functioning below 60-70 per cent battery capacity,” Khera told ANI.

“After so many days, how can the batteries not be consumed at all? It shows 99%. This is unnatural,” the Congress leader added.

He said similar complaints had emerged from 13 other assembly constituencies, vowing to submit these grievances formally to the ECI.

“We also told the EC that in the next 48 hours, we will make available to them other complaints that are being compiled,” he said.

A delegation of top Congress leaders comprising former chief ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Ashok Gehlot and AICC leaders K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken and Pawan Khera, besides Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan, met with top Election Commission officials.

While ECI officials assured the delegation of a response to their concerns, Khera insisted that “assurances won’t work” and called for tangible evidence and explanations to substantiate the integrity of the election process.

“We need concrete answers supported and backed by evidence... What has the BJP got to do with it? This is between the Opposition and the Election Commission of India,” he said.

Congress claimed to have won seats where EVMs reportedly operated on batteries charged to only 60-70% while the BJP won several seats where EVMs showed 99 per cent battery.

Rahul Gandhi on Haryana election results

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition, described the Haryana Assembly election results as "unexpected" and assured that complaints from various constituencies would be taken up with the ECI.

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The Election Commission accepted the Congress party's request for a meeting to discuss the alleged irregularities.

“I am directed to refer to the widely reported statement made by Shri Jairam Ramesh, MP, and Shri Pawan Khera on 8th October 2024, which seemingly made an assertion, in the context of the recently concluded General Election to the Legislative Assembly of Haryana, to the effect that ‘election results are unacceptable’,” the letter from Election Commission read.

“The Election Commission is now in receipt of a request seeking a meeting time of a 12-member official Congress delegation, including those members, who made the statements. The commission has agreed to meet today at 6pm at the Nirvachan Sadan,” the letter stated.