EC Cancels Falta Assembly Poll, Orders Repoll on May 21

Claim 1 The EC countermanded Falta elections due to electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process.

Evidence TimesNowNews reported that the EC directed fresh polls in all 285 polling stations of Falta “on consideration of severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process”. The Times of India quoted an EC spokesperson saying the repoll was ordered because of “severe electoral offences subversion of democratic process”.

Verdict True.

Analysis Both independent outlets match the EC’s statement, giving high confidence that the commission cited electoral offences as the reason for canceling the poll.

Claim 2 In the Falta assembly constituency, 60 out of 285 polling stations (21%) had their EVMs tampered with.

Evidence TimesNowNews noted that “EVMs in as many as 60 polling stations were found to have been tampered with. These amounted to 21% of the total number of polling stations in the constituency (285)”. The Times of India repeated the figure of 60 booths where EVMs were allegedly taped over.

Verdict True.

Analysis Consistent reporting from two reputable sources confirms the exact number and percentage of tampered machines.

Claim 3 22.82% of electors, corresponding to 53,967 out of 236,000 registered voters, were enrolled to vote at the polling stations where EVMs were tampered with in Falta.

Evidence TimesNowNews quoted the EC: “As many as 22.82% of electors or 53,967 of the total 2.36 lakh were enrolled for voting at these polling stations.” The Times of India repeated the same statistic – 22.82% (53,967) of the 2.36 lakh voters were registered at the affected booths.

Verdict True.

Analysis Identical figures across both outlets corroborate the EC’s data, indicating a substantial portion of the electorate voted at compromised stations.

Watch for the repoll on May 21 and the vote count on May 24, as well as any legal challenges or further EC investigations into the alleged tampering.