Gurugram: From alleged tinkering with the voter list to biased poll officers and pressure on officials from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—the fact-finding committee of the Haryana Congress Monday released a raft of reasons on why it lost the October state assembly polls despite an upturn in fortunes in the Lok Sabha elections just four months before.

The panel’s interim report Monday has squarely blamed the ruling BJP and the Election Commission (EC) for allegedly manipulating the 2024 Haryana assembly election results.

The party described the results as “unexpected and questionable” as it had expected a stronger show after winning five of the state’s 10 parliamentary seats in the June general elections.

At a press meet Monday, Dalal said the committee, which was tasked with uncovering irregularities in the poll process, had compiled evidence of “large scale manipulations that compromised the democratic process”.

This drew a sharp retort from Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who said Dalal was only trying to find faults with EVMs after being soundly defeated in October. Saini, who was at Indri in Karnal Monday, said “the people of Haryana had rejected the Congress” and that the party should make peace with this.

Also read: Nayab Saini is behind BJP’s win in Haryana. He started as an assistant in party’s office

Key findings of interim report

The document, submitted to Congress general secretary in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria, outlined constituency-wise details of alleged malpractice. Dalal said the wrongdoings ranged from discrepancies in voter turnout to biased decisions by election officials.

The report highlighted instances when EVMs “malfunctioned” during polling, with votes cast for the Congress being “transferred” to BJP candidates in some booths. Witness testimonies from polling agents and voters were recorded to substantiate these claims.

There were also allegations of unauthorised personnel accessing EVM storage rooms in constituencies like Panipat and Hisar.

The report mentions non-consumption of batteries in certain EVMs, citing the serial numbers of eight such machines in which the battery charge was 99 percent at the time of counting.

Dalal further said that certain district officials acted under pressure from the ruling party, leading to “selective enforcement” of the Model Code of Conduct. Officials allegedly ignored complaints of code violations against BJP candidates, while pulling up Congress campaigns.

The EC’s alleged inaction on complaints filed by Congress candidates during polling and counting days was a significant part of the report. Complaints about irregularities in the counting process were allegedly dismissed without proper investigation.

In rural areas, Dalal said, Congress polling agents were denied access to certain booths or were threatened by local officials and BJP workers.

Dalal cited incidents of unexplained power outages at counting centres in districts like Rohtak and Faridabad. These disruptions allegedly delayed the counting process and created opportunities for tampering with results, he alleged.

The party also complained that the panel’s investigation was hindered due to “lack of cooperation” from state authorities. Several Right to Information (RTI) requests have gone unanswered, delaying the probe’s progress. “We are struggling to get crucial data,” a committee member said on condition of anonymity.

The committee said it would release a more comprehensive report within two months, after getting answers to the RTI applications.

(Edited by Tikli Basu)

Also read: Joy to bitterness in 4 months. How Congress crashed in Haryana after cruising post LS poll results