Aam Aadmi Party leader Anurag Dhanda has raised questions over election outcomes in West Bengal, alleging that the results were influenced by Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists rather than purely electoral trends.
In a detailed statement, Anurag Dhanda claimed that in 176 legislativeAssembly seat, the margin of victory was lower than the number of votes allegedly removed during the SIR process, suggesting a potential impact on results.
Anurag Dhanda: Key claims on vote margins
According to the figures cited, around 91 lakh votes were removed during the SIR exercise, averaging nearly 30,000 votes per seat across 293 constituencies. Of these, 176 seats recorded victory margins below 30,000, while 117 seats had margins above this threshold.
Seat-wise performance analysis
The data presented indicates that the Bharatiya Janata Party won 128 seats with margins below 30,000 votes, while a smaller number of seats saw higher margins. Comparatively, the All India Trinamool Congress also recorded several wins with narrow margins, reflecting closely contested constituencies.
Vote share comparison
Despite the seat distribution, the analysis highlighted that the BJP secured approximately 32 lakh more votes than Trinamool Congress, translating to an average lead of around 10,960 votes per seat.
Reference to Supreme Court observations
Citing observations of the Supreme Court of India, the statement noted that courts generally do not interfere in election results if the number of removed votes is less than the margin of victory. However, intervention may be considered if it can be shown that deleted votes could have altered outcomes.
Explanation of the argument
To illustrate, the example given suggests that if a candidate wins by 5,000 votes and the number of removed votes exceeds that margin, the result could potentially be affected. Conversely, if removed votes are fewer than the margin, the outcome is unlikely to change.
Political context
The remarks come amid ongoing political debates around electoral processes and voter list revisions, with opposition leaders raising concerns and seeking greater transparency in such exercises.
