The voting under the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 took place on April 19 and the second is to be held on April 26. Meanwhile, some users are making a claim by sharing a post related to voting on social media, in which the main claim is of ‘Challenge Vote’. The viral post claims that if a person’s name is not in the voter list, they can vote by exercising his right to ‘challenge vote’ under Section 49P by showing his Aadhar card or voter identity card. Apart from this, there is also mention of ‘tender vote’ and re-polling at any polling station in the viral post.
We found the viral claim to be false in our investigation. If a person’s name is not in the voter list, they cannot vote under any circumstances. Also, even if a person has a voter ID card, it is not necessary that they can vote. For voting, it is mandatory to have the name of the concerned voter in the voter list along with the possession of Voter ID card. At the same time, the claim related to re-polling regarding ‘tender vote’ is also fake.
Claim:
Social media user ‘Shalini Shrivastava’ wrote a viral post in Hindi:
Post in Hindi says:
“महत्वपूर्ण सूचना 📢
जब आप मतदान केंद्र पर पहुंचें और पाएं कि आपका नाम मतदाता सूची में नहीं है, तो झिझकें नहीं!! बस अपना आधार कार्ड या मतदाता पहचान पत्र दिखाएं और धारा 49पी के तहत “चुनौती वोट” मांगें और अपना वोट डालने पर जोर दें।
यदि आपको लगे कि किसी ने आपका वोट पहले ही डाल दिया है तो “टेंडर वोट” मांगें और अपना वोट अवश्य डालें। बस दूर मत जाओ.
यदि किसी मतदान केंद्र पर 14% से अधिक टेंडर वोट दर्ज किए जाते हैं, तो ऐसे मतदान केंद्रों पर पुनर्मतदान कराया जाएगा।
कृपया इस अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण संदेश को अपने सभी दोस्तों के साथ साझा करें, क्योंकि सभी को अपने मतदान के अधिकार के बारे में पता होना चाहिए।”
Translation:
“Important information 📢
When you reach the polling station and find that your name is not in the voter list, do not hesitate!! Just show your Aadhaar card or Voter ID card and ask for “Challenge Vote” under Section 49P and insist on casting your vote.
If you feel that someone has already cast your vote then ask for “Tender Vote” and definitely cast your vote. Don’t just walk away.
If more than 14% tender votes are recorded at any polling station, re-polling will be conducted at such polling stations.
Please share this extremely important message with all your friends, as everyone should be aware of their right to vote.”
Other users too are sharing the same post.
Investigation:
There are three claims in the viral post:
First claim states: When you reach the polling station and find that your name is not in the voter list, do not hesitate!! Just show your Aadhar card or voter ID card and ask for ‘Challenge vote’ under Section 49P and insist on casting your vote.
Fact:
The truth is that if a person’s name is not in the voter list, they cannot vote at any cost on the polling day. Under Section 35(2) of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961, the name of every voter who casts his/her vote must be in the electoral roll.
According to the information available on the Election Commission’s website, having your name in the voter list is a mandatory condition for voting, along with which you must have one of the identity cards mentioned by the Election Commission.
The viral claim mentions the right to cast “Challenge Vote” under Section 49P. In fact, after this, in Section 49P of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961, information has been given about ‘tender vote’ and not about “challenge vote”.
This means that the claim is fake and baseless.
Second claim:
The viral claim mentions the right to “challenge vote” under Section 49P. In fact, after this, in Section 49P of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961, information has been given about tender vote and not about “challenge vote”.
Fact:
There is a provision related to tender vote in Section 49P of Conduct of Election Rules 1961 and according to this rule, if someone has already cast your vote, then you can complain about it to the presiding officer present at the polling station, after which you will get your Documents related to identity will have to be shown. If the Presiding officer is satisfied, you will have the right to vote and the voter will be able to cast his ‘tender vote’ through the tender ballot paper. This voting is done through ballot paper and not through EVM.
Third claim: If more than 14% tender votes are recorded at any polling station, re-polling will be conducted at such polling stations
There is no such rule related to tender vote in Section 49P of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961. In fact, there is a provision for re-voting in Section 58 of The Representation of the People Act 1951.
There is no such rule related to tender vote in Section 49P of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961. In fact, there is a provision for re-voting in Section 58 of The Representation of the People Act 1951.
In 2008, when Congress’s CP Joshi lost to BJP candidate Kalyan Singh Chauhan by a margin of one vote during the Rajasthan Assembly elections, he had claimed in the High Court that some votes were cast through tender voting. The court then ordered a recount and the votes of both the candidates were equal, after which Chauhan was declared the winner through a draw.
We contacted the Central Election Commission official regarding the viral post. He termed the claim of voting through “challenge vote” as fake and said that a clarification has been issued by the Election Commission in this regard. He shared the clarification issued by the Commission, in which it has been called fake.
According to the Election Commission, the Lok Sabha elections 2024, to be held in a total of seven phases, started on April 19 with the first phase of voting, under which votes were cast on a total of 102 seats. The next phase of voting will be held on April 26, under which voting will be held on a total of 89 seats.
Conclusion: The claim of voting through ‘Challenge Vote’ despite the name not being in the voter list is fake and fabricated. To vote, it is not only mandatory to have a voter ID card, but it is also necessary to have a name in the voter list. Also, the claim regarding re-polling in the context of “tender vote” is fake.
(This story was originally published by Vishvas News, and republished by Lighthouse Journalism as a part of the Shakti Collective)
