With the NDA leading the Bihar assembly elections, the age-old conspiracy theory and unfounded allegations of EVM hacking have been yet again been raised by the opposition. Fearing an impending defeat, the Congress party leaders and supporters are casting aspersions on the credibility of EVMs.
On Tuesday, Congress leader Digivijaya Singh stated, “EVMs are not tamper-proof, and selective tampering is done. There are seats that we would have not lost in any circumstance but we did by thousands of votes. We’ll hold a meeting tomorrow & analyse the results.”
EVMs are not tamper-proof, and selective tampering is done. There are seats that we would have not lost in any circumstance but we did by thousands of votes. We’ll hold a meeting tomorrow & analyse the results: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh #MadhyaPradeshbyelection pic.twitter.com/m0xvCcHdzG
— ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2020
EVMs are questioned only during unfavourable results, stated Karti Chidambaram
The Congress vetran’s rant against EVMs, however, finds no takers even among his own party members. Congress leader Karti P Chidambaram took to Twitter to tell doubters to stop questioning the voting machines. He tweeted, “Whatever be the outcome of any election, it’s time to stop blaming the EVM. In my experience, the EVM system is robust, accurate and dependable.”
The Congress leader further added that he stands by his views and reiterated that EVMs are questioned only when results are not favourable. “EVM system is robust, accurate & dependable. This has always been my view. I stand by it. There have been doubters of the EVM from across political parties, particularly when the results don’t go in their favour. Till now no has demonstrated scientifically their claims,” Karti Chidambaram reiterated.
EVM system is robust, accurate & dependable. This has always been my view. I stand by it. There have been doubters of the EVM from across political political parties, particularly when the results don’t go in their favour. Till now no has demonstrated scientifically their claims. https://t.co/e1dG8WsgOp
— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) November 10, 2020
It is notable that Congress seems to have got a crude shock in Madhya Pradesh as BJP manages clear leads in 21 out of 28 seats. Former CM Kamal Nath has conceded and has stated that he accepts what the voters have decided.
Congress leader Udit Raj and Plurals Party leader Pushpam Priya Chaudhary are also among leaders who have been blaming EVMs for their loss. Pushpam Priya had even claimed that she could not get votes from her own party workers, triggering social media jokes and memes.
Election Commission releases presser dismissing EVM hack theories
The Election Commission has in a presser, informed that there has been an absolutely glitch-free counting process so far. It confirmed that the EVMs are robust and safe, which means that there has been no malfunctioning or ‘tampering’ of EVMs- a conspiracy theory which the opposition starts spinning every time the results of any election are contrary to their desires. The Election commission has also informed that there was a 63% increase in polling booths in Bihar keeping the COVID-19 protocols in mind.
It said that in view of the Covid-19 requirements, the commission decided to limit the number of electors in each booth to 1000-1500, that is why the number of booths went up from 65,000 to 1.06 lakhs this year. Which means that 1.06 lakh EMVs are to be counted. So it said that though slightly more than 1 crore votes have been counted in Bihar but there is significant ground to be covered yet.
