Old Incident of Voting Irregularity in Assam Falsely Linked to Lok Sabha Polls

We found that the incident took place during the 2021 Assam assembly elections and is unrelated to Lok Sabha polls.

Fact-Check | The claim is misleading as the incident is not related to 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A post is doing the rounds on social media platforms to claim that 171 votes were cast in Assam's Dima Hasao during the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, where only 90 voters were registered.

What have users said?: The post carried text that said, "#BREAKING: There were only 90 voters at a booth in the Dima Hasao district of Assam, but 171 votes were cast in EVM! 5 Election Commission officers were suspended. #LokSabhaElection2024 #Election2024."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

We received a query about the viral post on our WhatsApp tipline as well. (More archives of similar claims can be viewed here, here, and here.)

Are these claims true?: While the incident did happen, it dates back to 2021 when a massive voting irregularity was recorded during the Assam assembly elections. It is unrelated to 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

How did we find that out?: On performing a keyword search using the words such as "171 votes cast at polling booth Assam", we came across a report published in India Today.

• It mentioned that around 171 votes were cast in a polling booth in Dima Hasao district, where only 90 voters were eligible to vote.

• The report said that the incident happened on 1 April during the second phase of the 2021 Assam assembly elections.

• The District Election Officer, while issuing an order, suspended five polling officials at the booth following the incident.

The report was published on 6 April 2021.

(Source: India Today/Screenshot)

Other sources: The official channel of NDTV, too, shared a video report talking about additional votes being cast in Dima Hasao during the state assembly elections.

Assam CEO clarifies: The Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Assam took to their official X handle and clarified that the incident was from 2021.

• The post said that repolling was conducted at the polling station, and disciplinary proceedings were taken against the officers.

Conclusion: It is clear that the an incident of additional votes being cast during 2021 Assam assembly elections is being falsely shared as one from the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections.

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