New Delhi, May 8 (IANS): The Election Commission of India (ECI) has published index cards and statistical reports for the 2026 Legislative Assembly elections and bye-elections within a record 72 hours of the declaration of results, covering all 830 Assembly constituencies where the election process concluded on May 6. This marks a historic first, as such comprehensive data has never previously been made available within three days of poll results. The index cards contain detailed information across multiple dimensions including candidate details, electors, votes polled, and party-wise performance, and are now publicly accessible through the ECINET App and the official ECI website. Alongside the index cards, the Commission simultaneously released 14 statistical reports providing an exhaustive breakdown of assembly constituency-wise voter turnout, gender-wise participation, and constituency-wise detailed results – all as part of a suo-moto initiative aimed at promoting transparency for researchers, stakeholders, and the general public.
The achievement represents a dramatic leap from the previous process, which involved manually compiling data through field officials and typically took several weeks or even months prior to the introduction of the ECINET platform. The rapid data release is one of over 30 initiatives undertaken by the Election Commission in the last one year as part of its broader push toward digital efficiency and public accountability. While the Commission clarified that the reports are prepared from secondary data and that primary data in statutory forms maintained by Returning Officers remains final, the move has been widely seen as a significant step toward greater electoral transparency. In a separate development, the ECI also announced that a re-poll for the Falta Assembly constituency in West Bengal has been scheduled for May 21, following complaints during the second and final phase of polling on April 29, with results to be declared on May 24.