Several allegedly “unusual” voting trends during the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections were highlighted at a press conference in Delhi, raising questions about the integrity and transparency of the electoral process. Economist Parakala Prabhakar pointed out that approximately 4.16% of the total votes were recorded between 11:45 pm and 2 am, and notably, these votes were said to have favored the NDA.
The claims drew attention to what was described as highly irregular voting activity, including nearly 17 lakh votes being cast after midnight and instances where votes appeared to be registered within intervals as short as six seconds. During the elections, the NDA—led by Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP—secured a sweeping victory, winning 164 out of 175 seats. Prabhakar asserted that polling activity reportedly continued until 2 am across nearly 3,500 booths, which he suggested was inconsistent with standard procedures.
According to the data presented, around 52 lakh votes were cast between 8 pm and 2 am, with more than 17 lakh of those recorded after midnight alone. He emphasized that, based on these figures, one vote was being cast roughly every 20 seconds during the post-midnight period. Questioning the feasibility of such rapid voting, he argued that if Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) require around 14 seconds to reset after each vote, it would be difficult to explain how votes could be recorded in as little as six seconds. He concluded that these patterns indicated that “something unusual” may have occurred after 8 pm.
The election ultimately resulted in Chandrababu Naidu returning as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth time. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) secured 135 seats, while the BJP won eight seats and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party claimed 21.
The concerns were raised during a Bharat Jodo Abhiyan press conference attended by Parakala Prabhakar, Yogendra Yadav, and other prominent figures. Notably, questions regarding voter turnout had already been raised earlier by opposition leaders and analysts.
On May 13, 2024, when polling concluded at 5 pm, Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Electoral Officer initially reported a turnout of 68.04%. Shortly afterward, the Election Commission of India (ECI) stated the turnout was 68.12% at 8 pm. However, by 11:45 pm, the figure was revised significantly upward to 76.50%. The final turnout, released four days later, stood at 81.79%, further fueling concerns over discrepancies.
At the same press conference, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan highlighted what he described as a lack of transparency in the electoral system. He questioned why Form 17C—which contains booth-wise data on votes polled—had not been made publicly available. He also noted that voter lists were not released in machine-readable formats, limiting the scope for independent verification. Similar concerns had previously been raised by the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, in the context of alleged electoral irregularities.
Bhushan argued that resistance to transparency raises deeper institutional concerns, stating that a democratic system cannot function effectively without openness. He called for mandatory verification through the counting of VVPAT slips to ensure credibility. Additionally, he pointed out the absence of publicly available records of voters who remained in queues after official polling hours, as well as the lack of real-time access to booth-level data—both of which, he warned, could enable large-scale discrepancies to go undetected.
Supporting these concerns, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi advocated for a comprehensive audit of election-related documents, including Form 17C and Form 20, the latter being the final result sheet compiled after vote counting. He questioned why inconsistencies might arise in aggregated data if Form 17C is properly signed and sealed at the booth level.
Quraishi further recommended that polling percentages should be disclosed on the same day and that booth-level summaries be released immediately to enhance transparency and strengthen trust in the electoral process.
