Returning officer dismisses vote count discrepancy allegation in Bhosari

PUNE The returning officer for the Bhosari constituency has dismissed allegations of discrepancies in the vote count during the recently held Maharashtra assembly elections, the results of which were declared on November 23.

Responding to claims by Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad of a mismatch exceeding 9,000 votes, the officer clarified that the total votes recorded during polling matched those tallied during counting.

Defeated Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates have announced plans to seek verification of the EVM-Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) records in their constituencies, following the controversy.

Awhad had specifically flagged Bhosari as a contentious case, alleging that while 3,65,055 votes were reported during polling, the count surged to 3,74,547 during the tallying process — a difference of 9,492 votes. This alleged anomaly has led the NCP to demand an immediate probe.

However, Revannath Labade, the returning officer for Bhosari, refuted these claims. He stated that 3,74,424 voters cast their votes during polling, and 3,74,425 votes were counted, with a single vote discrepancy due to an unreported Election Duty Certificate (EDC) vote.

“Additionally, 979 postal votes were received in the constituency,” he clarified.

Labade further explained that party workers and candidate representatives were present in large numbers during the counting process.

“I am not sure where these figures of discrepancies are coming from. Part II of Form 17C, which records votes polled, was provided to candidates and their supporters. None of the candidates raised objections. The details have also been shared with the district collector and uploaded in the public domain,” he said.

Labade’s clarification aims to quell concerns as the NCP and other MVA leaders continue to press for greater scrutiny of the electoral process.