'We were never laapataa...', Election Commission Dismisses Meme Comparisons, Amid Criticism

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar clarified on Monday that election commissioners were consistently available, refuting social media memes labeling them as 'missing gentlemen' or 'Laapataa Gentlemen.'

Speaking at a press briefing ahead of the Lok Sabha election results announcement, Kumar addressed the issue, stating, 'Social media meme pages are referring to us as ‘Laapataa Gentlemen'. However, we were never absent; we have always been present.'

Reviewing the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, Kumar highlighted that India achieved a milestone with 64.2 crore voters, including 31.2 crore women, casting their votes, setting a global record.

He mentioned the extensive involvement of over 68,000 monitoring teams and 1.5 crore polling and security personnel, making it the largest electoral exercise globally. Kumar emphasized the decrease in repolls, with only 39 occurring compared to 540 in 2019.

Additionally, Kumar stated that the Election Commission (EC) aims to conclude the next general election by the end of April, taking into account lessons learned from the unfortunate deaths of 33 on-duty poll workers due to a severe heatwave.

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He assured that the entire counting process was robust, addressing concerns raised by multi-party delegations effectively.

Kumar highlighted that the Indian electoral system allows for post-election scrutiny. However, he expressed concern about a 'fake narrative' circulating regarding alleged issues with voter lists and turnout data.

He emphasized the existence of a pattern and design behind these claims but dismissed the notion of a toolkit being involved. Kumar clarified that neither the publication of voter turnout data nor the data itself was delayed or manipulated.

Despite this, allegations of irregularities persist, including calls to 150 District Magistrates and collectors, which he deemed necessary to combat more effectively.

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Regarding Model Code of Conduct violations, Kumar revealed that over 90 percent of the 495 complaints during the 2024 general elections were resolved. Additionally, he noted the success of Election Commission in combating deep fakes and AI-generated synthetic content during the electoral process.