Around 17 lakh votes were polled in the internal elections of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) in Chhattisgarh in the election process that ended on June 12 at midnight, according to the Hindi daily Jagran, and several dogs, cats, and cows are among the individuals who cast their franchise.
According to the new system adopted by the Youth Congress to conduct internal polls, elections are conducted online, using an app-based system named Congress Sandesh app. As per the Jagran report, voters have to enrol as IYC members using documents to establish their identity, and then exercise their franchise. This app-based system was first used in the Maharastra Youth Congress election conducted last year.
The Jagran report has now quoted a source close to a member of the Chhattisgarh Youth Congress as saying that the party has received several applications enrolled in the name of dogs, cats and cows.
Voters registered as IYC members using identification documents to take part in the polls, which were held online using an app-based system. Additionally, applicants had to provide an 8-second video to prove their identity. According to sources, numerous clips that were uploaded on the IYC enrollment app- the Congress Sandesh app, contained the videos of dogs, cats, and cow, and the names used to register these applications are also names that are generally associated with animals.
As per reports, the Chhattisgarh Youth Congress received as many as 17 lakh new applications seeking membership, which included these applications that were registered on the names of animals. High-ranking sources inside the Youth Congress claim that if the central level of monitoring is not tightened, then these votes will likewise be deemed legal.
Besides, it is also being reported that many voters had voted three to five times at the district and assembly level. The candidates received the results of the ballots cast by those who voted before the results were even announced. Moreover, a fee of Rs 50 was also charged as nomination process and candidate voting fees. As just a result, over Rs 11 crore has been deposited in the Youth Congress’s account. If the sources in the Chhattisgarh Congress Youth unit are to be believed, it is expected that these votes would get rejected, when a scrutiny into the same is conducted.
It should be mentioned that roughly one-third of the over 19 lakh votes cast in Maharashtra’s internal elections to elect Indian Youth Congress (IYC) office-bearers were rejected due to irregularities such as voters exercising their franchise multiple times, data inconsistencies, and other anomalies.
The election process, which includes nominations, voter registration, and polling, had begun in Maharashtra on November 12, 2021, and ended on December 12, 2021. For the first time, polls were conducted online, utilising an app-based method, in which voters had to register as IYC members using documents to prove their identity and then exercise their franchise.