Election Commission to Review Maharashtra Voter Turnout, Allegations of EVM Tampering
Concerns include ‘Arbitrary Deletion and Addition of Over 10,000 Voters Per Constituency’
December 1, 2024
The Election Commission of India (ECI) will review voter turnout figures and investigate allegations of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering in Maharashtra, in response to concerns raised by the Congress party regarding the transparency of the recent state assembly polls.
Congress state president Nana Patole has questioned the fairness of the EVMs used during the assembly elections, alleging inconsistencies between the votes cast, the announced figures and the final results, as reported by Times of India. Patole shared these alleged discrepancies on social media.
The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) said it was planning rallies across the state to raise awareness about the issue.
According to The Hindu, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, alongside election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, assured the Congress party that their concerns would be reviewed. The commission also invited Congress for a meeting on Dec. 3 to discuss the issues in detail.
In a memorandum submitted to the ECI, the Congress party raised concerns regarding two significant issues: the “arbitrary deletion of voters and subsequent addition of over 10,000 voters in each constituency” and an “inexplicable increase in voting percentages from 5 p.m. to the final voter percentage declared by the ECI at 11:30 p.m.” on polling day.
Veteran social activist Dr. Baba Adhav staged a hunger strike in Pune, questioning the credibility of the EVMs. According to Pune Mirror, Dr. Adhav’s protest began on Nov. 28 and has since drawn support from various political leaders, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray.
Speaking at the protest site, Thackeray expressed his scepticism over the legitimacy of the election process, pointing to the addition of 7.6 million votes during the final hour of voting.
Amidst these allegations, the state chief electoral officer, S. Chockalingam, dismissed claims that EVMs could be tampered with. Speaking to Hindustan Times, he denied allegations that some candidates received zero votes due to EVM malfunction, insisting that the machines were reliable and the voting process transparent.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar), lost the Maharashtra elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance. Congress secured 16 seats, while Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20 seats and NCP (SP) gained 10 seats.
The issue of EVM manipulation has been a recurring topic in elections over the past several years. Concerns regarding the vulnerability of EVMs were first notably raised in the aftermath of the 2009 general elections, with various political entities arguing that the machines were susceptible to hacking or manipulation.
Experts believe that while EVMs are considered secure, no technology is entirely immune to compromise, particularly when there are opportunities for insider threats or procedural lapses.
Critics have pointed out that the EVMs, though not connected to the internet, could still be vulnerable to manipulation during their transportation or at the point of storage.
In 2013, the Supreme Court mandated the introduction of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems along with EVMs to ensure greater transparency. The use of VVPATs has added a layer of verification, allowing voters to confirm that their vote was recorded correctly. However, discrepancies in VVPAT counts compared to electronic tallies in some instances have kept the debate alive.
