In a series of tweets on Sunday (7th April 2024), the Election Commission of India (ECI) debunked fake news alleging that the total votes counted by EVM in several Parliamentary constituencies during the 2019 General Elections exceeded the total votes polled. The ECI shared a link to a document detailing important statistics from previous elections, including the polling data from the 2019 General Elections (Lok Sabha).
The poll body clarified that the claims are false and that the alleged letter, purportedly from the poll body, is itself fake. The fake letter aimed at spreading baseless allegations of EVM hacking which has been repeatedly rejected by ECI and honorable courts.
Responding to a post by a parody account named Ravish Kumar Parody, the Election Commission listed the fake claims and the reality of it. In the post, the parody account had shared a video of a YouTube channel named Mulniwasi Dastak in which a man named Waman Mesharam alleged that there was a mismatch in polling data (counted votes were more than the total votes polled) in around 373 Parliamentary constituencies out of total 542 Lok Sabha seats. The presenter specifically cited Varanasi alleging that in 2019, the EVM counted 12 lakh 87 thousand votes whereas the total votes polled were 11 lakh.
False Claim 1: false claim is made in a video regarding mismatch of electors & votes polled in #EVM in VaranasiPC during #GE2019
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) April 7, 2024
Reality: claim is misleading& fake. Total Electors in VaranasiPC were 18,56,791. Total votes polled & counted in EVM-10,58,744 & postal votes-2085
1/3 https://t.co/RIonUYT4Ef
Highlighting the first false claim made in the video, the ECI wrote, “False Claim 1: false claim is made in a video regarding mismatch of electors & votes polled in #EVM in VaranasiPC during #GE2019.”
Busting the fake claim, the post added, “Reality: claim is misleading& fake. Total Electors in VaranasiPC were 18,56,791. Total votes polled & counted in EVM-10,58,744 & postal votes-2085.”
False Claim 2: A false claim is being made quoting ECI letter that mismatch between total electors & votes polled in EVM were found in 373 PCs in #GE2019
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) April 7, 2024
Reality: claim is misleading, #fake & baseless. There is no such communication issued by #ECI. There was no mismatch.
2/3
Likewise, the post continued, “False Claim 2: A false claim is being made quoting ECI letter that mismatch between total electors & votes polled in EVM were found in 373 PCs in #GE2019.. Reality: claim is misleading, #fake & baseless. There is no such communication issued by #ECI. There was no mismatch.”
The poll body also attached a link to check Parliamentary constituency-wise details of electors and votes polled. PDF file of the same is included later in the article.
For PC wise details of electors and votes polled pls check here👇https://t.co/FdZZVStLpp#VerifyBeforeYouAmplify
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) April 7, 2024
After busting the fake news, ECI issued an appeal to verify things before propagating them and used the hashtag, “#VerifyBeforeYouAmplify”, an ongoing awareness campaign of the polling body to fight misinformation and fake news.
However, the particular excerpt from the YouTube channel is not the single case where it made fake claims about EVM hacking. The channel has shared several videos alleging wrongdoings in EVM, EVM “scam” and how the voting machine (EVM) can be hacked in some DIY format videos.
It is pertinent to note the Supreme Court had rejected multiple pleas challenging the voting by EVM or alleging other malpractices through the voting machine noting that they found these allegations to be ‘baseless’. In March this year, while disposing of two pleas related to EVM and polling, Justice Khanna observed that more than 10 cases have been examined on various issues related to the functioning of EVMs by the court time and again.
