New Delhi, November 21: Amid widespread claims of stark difference between actual votes and total number of eligible voters in the recently-concluded Bihar Assembly elections, the Election Commission on Friday brushed off the ‘mismatch’ theory and cited a set of polling data including the postal ballots to expose the false claims and inferences.

The viral claims, circulating on social media, stated that the number of votes cast in Assembly elections exceeded the total number of registered voters, thus suggesting irregularities and rigging in the polling process. It claimed that the EC showed a total of 7.42 crore voters in its final list, released on September 30 after the SIR exercise, however, the poll panel in its statement after the two-phased elections, concluded on November 14, showed the total number of electors at 7.45 crore. Notably, the Election Commission, in its final index card released on November 17, put the voter turnout at record 67.13 per cent. SIR Phase II: 97.5% Enumeration Forms Distributed in SIR of Electoral Rolls, Says Election Commission.

The poll panel took note of the assertions on Friday and rebutted the votes-voters mismatch claims. The EC said that the skewed data doesn’t take into account postal ballots, thus creating doubts about integrity of the polling procedure. According to sources privy to the EC data, a total of 2,01,444 postal ballots were cast in Bihar elections, out of which 23,918 got rejected. A total of 9,10,730 electors – in both EVMs and postal ballots, opted for NOTA – a choice voters use to vent their distrust in any of the contesting candidates. ‘Unplanned, Chaotic and Dangerous’: CM Mamata Banerjee Writes to Election Commission, Seeks Immediate Intervention Over Ongoing SIR In West Bengal.

“Putting together EVM votes and postal ballots, the number of valid voters perfectly matches the official numbers, making the EC data 100 per cent accurate,” the poll panel stated. Rejecting the estimated figure of 5,000,29,880 votes, it claimed that if 1,77,526 postal ballots are included in the final count, the numbers match perfectly with the EC numbers.

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