2024 Election Records Reveal Vote Mismatches Across 51 Seats in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir
An investigation published on November 10, 2026, by The Reporters’ Collective has raised fresh questions about the accuracy and transparency of India’s 2024 election records. An examination of internal Election Commission of India (ECI) documents has identified discrepancies between the number of voters recorded as having cast their votes and the number of votes subsequently counted in 51 assembly and parliamentary constituencies across Maharashtra, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir.
The investigation examined electoral records covering 530 constituencies, including 467 Assembly seats and 63 parliamentary constituencies. Journalists Sumedha Mittal and Venkatesh Nayak reportedly accessed 4,212 physical election records submitted by returning officers and digitised them to identify inconsistencies in the official documentation.
According to the investigation, 19 of the 51 constituencies had no properly recorded figure for the number of voters who entered polling booths to cast their votes. In these records, officials had entered zero or nil instead of providing the required information. This has raised questions about whether the election authorities maintained adequate records to verify the polling process.
The remaining 32 constituencies showed discrepancies between the number of votes recorded as polled and the number counted through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). In 12 constituencies, the number of votes counted was lower than the recorded number of votes cast. In the other 20, the number of votes counted exceeded the number of recorded voters.
One of the most significant discrepancies identified was in Mumbai North parliamentary constituency in Maharashtra, where Union Minister Piyush Goyal defeated Congress candidate Bhushan Patil. The internal records reportedly showed approximately 18.11 lakh votes polled, whereas the final ECI result indicated approximately 10.33 lakh votes counted. The difference amounted to around 7.78 lakh votes.
Another major discrepancy was identified in Haryana’s Badkhal Assembly constituency. According to the investigation, internal records showed approximately 3.32 lakh votes polled, despite the officially declared voter turnout being around 48 per cent. Investigators noted that the recorded figure appeared to correspond to the total number of registered voters rather than the actual number who voted.
The investigation also identified four other constituencies where officials had reportedly entered the total number of registered electors as the number of votes polled. Such inconsistencies have raised concerns about the reliability of the reporting and verification procedures used by election officials.
The issue is particularly important because the number of voters recorded at polling stations and the number of votes counted should ordinarily correspond. Differences can sometimes arise from legitimate procedural circumstances, including voters entering polling booths without ultimately casting a vote. However, substantial discrepancies require examination to establish their causes.
The Election Commission of India has previously defended its electoral procedures, maintaining that the voting process includes safeguards against manipulation. It has also emphasised the importance of Form 17C, which records the number of votes polled at individual polling stations and is provided to polling agents representing candidates.
In response to questions from The Reporters’ Collective, the commission reportedly treated the journalists’ queries as a public grievance and requested that they submit the records to its grievance redressal system. The commission also indicated that the information would remain confidential within the department.
The investigation does not establish that election results were manipulated or that any particular political party benefited from fraudulent voting. However, it raises questions about whether the ECI’s internal records were sufficiently complete to independently verify the relationship between votes cast and votes counted in the identified constituencies.
The controversy also comes against the background of earlier investigations into discrepancies in the 2024 Lok Sabha election data. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) had previously reported differences between EVM votes polled and votes counted across 538 parliamentary constituencies, based on its analysis of publicly available election figures.
The Election Commission’s ability to maintain accurate polling records remains central to public confidence in India’s electoral system. The latest investigation has renewed demands for greater transparency, access to polling-station records and independent scrutiny of discrepancies before election data is treated as fully verified.
