The party staged a protest outside the counting centre late into the evening and sought the intervention of the State Election Commission and the district administration. BJP leaders demanded preservation of election records, a recount of votes and an immediate inquiry into the alleged lapses.
In a representation submitted to the District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner and the Returning Officer-cum-SDM, BJP candidate Jatinder Singh Rana alleged discrepancies in the counting process.
He claimed that, according to the tally maintained by his authorised counting agents, he had maintained a lead throughout the counting process and was ahead by nearly 200 votes at the end of the final round. However, the final result declared him defeated by a margin of 71 votes.
Rana further alleged that there was an unexplained delay of nearly an hour between the completion of counting and the declaration of results, raising concerns about the transparency of the process. He also accused local MLA Hardeep Rana of influencing the outcome.
The BJP candidate alleged that election officials did not conduct a recount in a timely manner despite objections being raised and said several counting agents were witnesses to the alleged discrepancies. He urged the State Election Commission to intervene and investigate the matter.
However, DC Manmohan Sharma rejected the allegations and clarified that three issues had been raised by the BJP candidate — votes cast by polling personnel, recounting of rejected votes and the table-wise tally of votes.
The DC said 73 votes had been cast by election staff and around 200 votes had been rejected during counting. He added that the administration was not opposed to a recount, provided such a demand was made within the stipulated time frame prescribed under election rules.
With BJP leaders expressing dissatisfaction over the outcome, the controversy has sparked a political debate over the counting process, though election authorities have maintained that the result was declared in accordance with established procedures.
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