Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday claimed that “targeted vote chori (theft) in selective seats” could result in a massive difference in the outcome of an election.
The three-term Congress MP made the claim in the context of the sweeping Bihar mandate in favour of the NDA on Friday.
Gogoi said even people of Bihar would “not” have voted for such a one-sided Assembly while congratulating the Election Commission and the chief election commissioner for “defeating even the best exit pollsters”.
“Looking at the exit poll vote share and the final vote share of different parties, there is not much difference. It points to the fact that targeted vote chori in selective seats can lead to a massive difference in the final outcome of the Assembly,” he said.
The Opposition RJD had won 25 per cent of the votes (1.15 crore votes), while the ruling Janata Dal secured 19.25 per cent and the BJP 20.08 per cent.
The Congress on Saturday accused the BJP leadership and the EC of vote theft, pointing towards the deletion of 69 lakh voters — mostly Opposition voters — during the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls before the Assembly elections.
The ruling NDA alliance won 202 seats, inflicting a crippling defeat on the Mahagathbandhan, which could manage only 35 seats. The Assembly poll results were declared on Friday.
Gogoi added: “Media will continue to ask questions of the Opposition and look for easy answers, but they will not ask the real questions to the Election Commission. Meanwhile, the Opposition parties will continue to pursue the truth in order to protect the democracy of India and its Constitution.” Notwithstanding Gogoi’s claim, the result has rattled Congressmen in poll-bound Assam, with several leaders confiding that the party will have to get its act together if it is to put up a decent fight against a well-entrenched ruling alliance in the state led by the BJP since 2016, given the state government’s penchant for beneficiary schemes. Most here believe the NDA’s ₹10,000 direct benefit transfer scheme helped the ruling alliance in Bihar.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said the Bihar result was unbelievable and unprecedented while describing the EC as one-sided. “We are collecting data and conducting a thorough analysis, and within 1 to 2 weeks, we will provide concrete proof,” Venugopal said, while questioning the electoral process.
