Representative image – PTI
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has denied media reports that a polling officer’s mobile phone, which was used to unlock an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), was used by an aide of a Shiv Sena candidate.
According to a Mid-Day report, an aide to Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Dattaram Waikal, who defeated Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Gajanan Kirtikar in the Mumbai North West constituency in Maharashtra, had used a mobile phone that was used to generate one-time passwords (OTPs) used to unlock EVMs during vote counting.
In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Mumbai Suburban District Election Officer Vandana Suryavanshi said no such OTPs will be used to unlock EVMs.
Suryavanshi said EVMs are non-programmable machines and have no wireless communication capabilities.
Regardless of what the paper insinuated, Suryavanshi said the incident in Mumbai North West constituency pertained to “unauthorised use of a mobile phone of an authorised person by a candidate’s aide”. He said a criminal case had already been registered by the ECI in the matter.
“EVMs are standalone devices with no wired or wireless connection to any unit outside the EVM system. Advanced technological features and robust administrative safeguards have been put in place to eliminate any chance of tampering. The safeguards include conducting everything in the presence of the candidate or his/her representative,” Suryavanshi said.
The media reports were used by opposition parties, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, to cast doubt on the legitimacy of EVMs and the elections. Opposition parties have made unfounded claims about the reliability of EVMs in recent years and through the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and have called for voting by paper ballot, as was the case before EVMs were introduced in 2004.
What about the Mumbai North West constituency?
The ECI issued the statement after a Mid-Day report was used to question the reliability of EVMs.
The paper reported that police are investigating the role played by Ravindra Waikal’s relatives and aides Mangesh Pandilkar and Dinesh Gurav on the day of the vote counting, which took place at the NESCO Centre in Mumbai. The paper reported that police have found that Pandilkar was using the mobile phone that was used to generate the OTP that was used to “unlock” the EVMs.
The June 14 FIR was filed by the ECI following a complaint from a candidate, the paper reported, as also mentioned in a statement by the ECI on Sunday.The paper further reported that police had found that Gurav had used the same mobile phone to unlock the Electronic Transmitted Postal Voting System (ETPBS) to generate OTPs for service voters.
In the Mumbai NW constituency election, Shiv Sena’s Waikar lost the electoral vote but won after postal votes were counted. Shiv Sena’s Kirtikar (UBT) got 451,095 electoral votes and Waikar got 451,094. Later, when the postal votes were counted, the situation reversed. Waikar got 1,550 postal votes and Kirtikar got 1,501. The final tally was 452,644 votes for Waikar and 452,596 for Kirtikar.
The ECI denied the allegation that OTPs are not used to unlock EVMs or ETPBSs as EVMs are non-programmable machines.The ECI further stated that contrary to newspaper reports, the case registered with the police pertains to unauthorised use of a mobile phone of a polling officer by an aide of a candidate.
ETPBS counting will be done physically, says ECI
Regarding the ETPBS counting mentioned in newspaper reports, the ECI said it is a physical process and no machines are used.
“ETPBS counting is done in physical form (paper ballot papers) and not e-voting as is being spread under false representation. All tally papers for each table of ETPBS and EVM tally and postal vote tally (including ETPBS) have been signed by all the counting officers after due diligence,” the ECI said.
Suryavanshi further said the ECI has filed a case against the paper for “spreading rumours maligning the Indian voters and electoral system”.
Find us on YouTube
subscribe
