Parties doubt something fishy: Sibal on EC not giving booth-wise turnout

New Delhi, NT Bureau: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Thursday said the Election Commission not putting out the polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website has given rise to doubts among parties that there is "something fishy" and wondered what the problem is in uploading the data.

Sibal, a senior advocate, asked what the problem is in putting out polling station-wise turnout data when all the details in Form 17C are given to the polling agent at the end of voting.

His remarks came a day after the Election Commission told the Supreme Court that "indiscriminate disclosure" of polling station-wise turnout data and posting it on its website would cause chaos in the election machinery, which is already in motion for the Lok Sabha elections.

The poll panel said public posting of Form 17C -- which gives the number of votes polled in a polling station -- was not provided in the statutory framework and could lead to mischief and vitiation of the entire electoral space as it increased the possibility of the images being morphed.