“On the counting day, results start coming in from 8.05 am, which is nonsense…counting begins at 8.30 am,” said chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar, hinting at the early trends announced on TV news channels on the election results day. “There is no scientific basis for it.”

The ECI chief then questioned if these trends are displayed to justify the exit polls. He said that the completion of phase one of counting is also announced on news channels before it makes it to the election commission website. He was speaking at a press interaction for announcing the dates for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections.  

Kumar said when the actual results start coming, “there is a mismatch,” which can lead to serious issues. “The gap between expectation and achievement is nothing but frustration.” He said that while the ECI does not have the authority to take action against it, he expects “self-correction”.     

He also said that EVMs can’t be hacked like pagers used for blasts. “We are asked if electric voting machines can be hacked like pagers that were used in some regions. The difference is EVMs are not connected like pagers.” The remark came a day after Congress leader Rashid Alvi claimed on Tuesday that EVMs could be manipulated. 

The assembly elections in Maharashtra will be held on November 20, and the votes will be counted on November 23. In Jharkhand, the assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, and the results will be announced on November 23.

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