Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday wrote a letter to leaders of the INDIA bloc, alleging discrepancies in the voting data released by Election Commission for the first and second phases of the Lok Sabha polls.

He urged the leaders of the Opposition parties to raise their voice against such “discrepancies to protect democracy and the Constitution.”

“My letter to the leaders of INDIA parties, regarding the discrepancies in the voting data released by ECI and non-publishing of registered voters,” the Congress chief wrote on X.

Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, along with the post also shared the letter addressed to leaders of the INDIA bloc over the matter.

In his three page letter to Opposition leaders on Monday, the Congress chief wrote, “2024 LS elections is the fight to save democracy and the Constitution. As you are aware with the recent developments, the credibility of the ECI is at an all time low. It is in public domain on how the ECI, perhaps for the first time in history, delayed the release of the final voting percentages of the first and second phase of6 the Lok Sabha elections.”

“Additionally, it is extremely disconcerting to know, through various media reports, that even the final registered voters list from the third phase onwards is also not released. All these developments cast a dark shadow on the functioning of the ECI– an institution built with the collective efforts of the Indian State and its people,” he said.

Stating that the “inordinate” delay in the release of the final voting percentages for the first and second phases raises serious doubts on the quality of data, Kharge said, “In my electoral life of 52 years, I have never witnessed such a high increment of voting percentages, in the final published data, that we now assume came from the later hours of voting on the polling days.”

“For the first phase (102 seats), the Commission said that as of 7pm on 19th April, the estimated voter turnout was around 60 percent, while similarly for the second phase (88 seats), the estimated voter turnout was around 60.96 percent. Why is it that on 20th April, the Commission’s projected voter turnout for the first phase was increased to 65.5 percent and on 27th April, for the second phase the voter turnout data was 66.7 percent. Finally on 30th April, the figures were confirmed at 66.14 percent for the first phase and 66.71 percent for the second phase?,” he said.

The Congress chief further said, “As the INDIA bloc it should be our collective endeavour to safeguard Democracy and protect the independent functioning of the ECI. All the aforementioned facts force us to ask a question – could this be an attempt to doctor the final results? Prime Minister Modi and the BJP are visibly flustered and frustrated by the voting trends and their receding electoral fortunes in the first two phases. The entire nation knows that an autocratic regime, drunk with power, can go to any extent to stay in the chair.”

“I would urge all of you that we must collectively, unitedly and unequivocally raise our voice against such discrepancies, for our only objective is to protect the culture of a vibrant democracy and the Constitution,” Kharge said.