Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday announced its decision to move the Orissa High Court over alleged discrepancies in the vote count during the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of failing to provide a satisfactory response on the issue.
BJD spokesperson Amar Patnaik, MLA Dhruba Charan Sahoo and former MP Sarmistha Sethi told reporters at a press conference that the party had submitted “fact-based evidence” to the ECI around eight months ago, highlighting anomalies in the election data, but had yet to receive a convincing explanation. “That is why the Biju Janata Dal is going to the High Court,” Patnaik said.
The BJD, however, distanced itself from the Congress and the INDIA bloc’s recent “vote chori” campaign, even though Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also questioned the transparency of the polls. Patnaik noted that the BJD had raised concerns much earlier, with Rahul Gandhi later echoing the party’s earlier demand for a complete audit of the election process.
According to Patnaik, the party’s analysis of ECI data revealed several irregularities. In all parliamentary constituencies of Odisha, the number of votes counted allegedly exceeded the number of votes recorded in EVMs. There were also significant discrepancies between the total votes cast in parliamentary and assembly constituencies, despite polling being held simultaneously. In addition, the number of votes recorded after 5 pm on polling days varied sharply, with increases ranging from 7 per cent to 30 per cent—over half of the assembly segments showing a difference of 15 to 30 per cent.
The BJD had lodged a complaint with the ECI on December 19, 2024, seeking not only clarifications but also reforms, including a complete audit of the election process from voter list preparation to counting, and 100 per cent VVPAT verification instead of the current five per cent sample. The party also sought the release of Form 17C, which details the vote count, but the ECI reportedly declined, citing ongoing legal cases in some constituencies.
Former MP Sharmistha Sethi, who contested unsuccessfully from Jajpur in 2024, said she had personally requested Form 17C from the ECI the day after the results were announced. “When it was not provided, I wrote again, but received no satisfactory reply. I was forced to approach the High Court, and the matter is still pending,” she said.
