Election Update # 9
Tendered Ballot
If the polling officer is not satisfied as to the identity of the person claiming to be a voter, he may issue a ballot paper to such person but instead of getting the ballot paper inserted in the ballot box, he shall place the same in a separate sealed cover superscribed as "Tendered ballot" and send it to the Returning Officer along with a letter, from the person concerned together with his own observations thereon, for the Returning Officer's decision which shall be final and conclusive.
According to Section 49P of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, if a voter realises that someone has already voted in his/her name, he/she can approach the presiding officer at the polling booth and flag the issue.
Upon answering the presiding officer’s questions about his/her identity satisfactorily, the voter will be allowed to cast a tender vote.
Tender votes are cast on ballot papers and sealed and locked away. These votes are useful when the margin between the winning candidate and the runner-up is slim. However, if the difference is large, tender votes are not counted.
In the Rajasthan Assembly Elections in 2008, when the Congress’s C.P. Joshi (He was one of the Chief Ministerial candidates. The senior leader had a great chance of becoming the Chief Minister of the state if he had won the elections. Not only did he lose by just one vote but surprisingly, it was his own mother, wife, and the driver who reportedly didn’t turn up to vote on the polling day) lost to the BJP’s Kalyan Singh Chouhan by one vote, he moved the Rajasthan High Court in 2009 claiming that some of the votes cast were tendered. The court ordered a recount and found a tie. After a draw, Mr. Chouhan was declared the winner.
(Source: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/tendered-vote/article26925328.ece)
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