DNA Exclusive: Opposition Ready With Excuses In Case Of Defeat? EC Responds To Allegations

New Delhi: Election results are set to be declared tomorrow, on June 4, in the world's largest democracy. Votes will be counted starting tomorrow morning and following exit polls suggesting a potential third term for Prime Minister Modi, the opposition has cast doubts on the entire election process. 

In today's DNA, Zee News anchor Sourabh Raaj Jain analysed how the opposition is preparing excuses to defend a potential defeat ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Results, and reviewed the Election Commission's response to their allegations.

The opposition has Effectively passed a no-confidence motion against the Election Commission. The essence of this motion is:

- Opposition parties are not willing to accept their defeat at any cost.
- The INDI Alliance has decided it is winning the election.
- If the opposition loses, they will consider it a democratic fraud.
- The opposition will view Modi and the NDA's victory as electoral dishonesty.

In essence, they claim, "We will win, or we will disrupt the process." This stance is a rare example in electoral politics. The Election Commission has responded to these allegations today. First, let's see how the opposition is preemptively rejecting the results.

1. Up until now, the opposition has only questioned EVM and VVPAT systems. Yesterday, they also brought postal ballots under suspicion, presenting five demands to the Election Commission. One demand was that postal ballots be counted before EVM votes. The Election Commission has accepted this demand and noted that postal ballots were also counted first in Arunachal and Sikkim.

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2. The INDI Alliance's second allegation is that results can be manipulated using EVM and VVPAT systems. They demanded that the control unit of EVMs be kept under CCTV surveillance and that the tags be shown to agents while sealing the EVMs. Before being imprisoned, Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the BJP had already committed an EVM scam, detailed in his four theories.

3. The opposition considers the possibility of a BJP victory, as predicted by all exit polls, to be part of a vote-rigging scam. They allege that these exit polls are one-sided and meant to create a narrative that justifies the results while dismissing any allegations of vote tampering. According to the opposition, the government will argue that it’s improbable for so many agencies' estimates to be wrong.

4. The fourth major allegation by the INDI Alliance is that the government has directed district magistrates (DMs) to ensure BJP's victory at any cost. Jairam Ramesh accused Home Minister Amit Shah of calling the collectors of 150 districts. Following this, Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the foundation of exit poll predictions is not based on EVMs but on the DMs' efforts. Today, the Election Commission requested evidence from Jairam Ramesh to support these claims.