Delhi: EC releases voter data amid AAP charges of delay in booth figures

The controversy kicked off as AAP leaders claimed that the election watchdog had failed to upload Form 17C

A day before the crucial vote count in Delhi’s fiercely contested assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of “refusing” to share the final voter count data. ECI, however, swiftly denied the charge, asserting that it had adhered to all transparency norms.

Police conduct security checks at a counting centre on the eve of the Delhi assembly election results on Friday. (PTI)

The controversy kicked off as AAP leaders, including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, claimed that the election watchdog had failed to upload Form 17C — a key document recording the number of votes polled at each booth — on its website.

ECI, however, maintained that it had fulfilled its obligations by providing the form to polling agents at the booths.

Hours later, ECI released the final voter turnout for Wednesday’s polling, putting the figure at 60.54% — a marginal 9-basis-point increase from the provisional data available on the EC’s app the night of polling. One basis point is 100th of a percentage point.

Despite this update, the AAP continued to press its case, arguing that the delay and alleged “opacity” fuelled concerns.

“This is something the Election Commission should have done in the interest of transparency, but it is unfortunate that they are refusing to do it,” Kejriwal posted on X (formerly Twitter), while launching a parallel initiative — transparentelections.in —to upload Form 17C details for every assembly segment.

Manish Sisodia, a senior AAP leader, posted on X: “Why so much secrecy instead of transparency by the Election Commission? Election Commission refuses to upload Form 17C and booth-wise vote data! AAP believes in fair elections, so we have uploaded Form 17C of every assembly on transparentelections.in.”

At the heart of the AAP’s allegations is Form 17C, a document that records the number of votes polled at every polling station. Under election rules, the presiding officer is required to provide copies of this form to polling agents of all contesting candidates at each booth. Delhi, with 13,766 polling stations, witnessed intense scrutiny from parties vying for power, making booth-wise data a crucial point of contention.

Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) pushed back, stating that voter turnout figures had already been made public and were accessible to the public through the ECI Voter Turnout App.

The Delhi CEO issued a firm rebuttal to the AAP’s claims, citing Rule 49S of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which mandates that Form 17C be handed to polling agents at each booth — a process that, ECI said, was followed “in letter and spirit.”

Further, a statement from the CEO’s office clarified that the final 60.54% turnout did not yet include votes cast through postal ballots by service voters, essential service personnel, and election duty officers.

The turnout figure is lower than the 62.82% recorded in 2020, when AAP registered a landslide victory, bagging 62 out of 70 seats, while the BJP managed only eight. AAP leaders have been wary of the slight dip in participation, as lower turnout historically benefits BJP in Delhi elections.