No 'surge' in last hour of polling in Maharashtra: Top election official

Mumbai: Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has said the seven per cent increase in voter turnout in the last hour of polling for the state assembly elections was not a surge, as claimed by the opposition, but an "average" process.

In a video statement on Monday, Chockaligam said Maharashtra is a large state with more than one lakh polling booths.

"If 76 lakh voters turn up in the last hour of polling, it is only (an average of) 76 voters in each of the polling centres," he added.

The assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand were held last month.

While the BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 of the 288 seats in Maharashtra, the JMM-led alliance bagged 56 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly.

''Unlike Jharkhand, Maharashtra votes more in the later half of the day. Whereas in Jharkhand, most of the voting takes place in the first half," Chockalingam said.

Jharkhand is a small state compared to Maharashtra and its voting ends at 5 pm, whereas voting in Maharashtra is allowed till 6 pm and those in queue at that time can cast vote, he noted.

''In Maharashtra, 50 to 60 persons have voted per hour," the state CEO said.

Chockaligam also refuted concerns raised by the opposition parties over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), saying they are technically reliable and transparent.

Candidates can approach the high court, if they have a doubt, within 10 days of declaration of the result, he added.