Did EVM Glitch Favour BJP in Maharashtra’s Local Body Polls?

On the EVM, when the coconut symbol of an Independent candidate was pressed, the BJP’s LED lamp used to light up.

The Buldhana District Collectorate of Maharashtra has admitted that one of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), that was used in the February local body polls, had malfunctioned.

Independent candidate Asha Arun Zore, who contested the zilla parishad elections, had raised objection in this regard after it was found that the votes were getting registered in favour of the BJP despite pressing the button indicating her symbol.

After technical investigation of the machine, the district collectorate officials in their report sent to the state government admitted that voters were pressing a different button, but the vote was getting registered in favour of the BJP.

Also Read: More Women Voters, Low Crime Rate: How EVMs Win Over Paper Ballots

When a voter pressed a symbol of coconut, allotted to Zore, the LED lamp of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s lotus symbol used to flash. This was reported to the District Collector by the Returning Officer (RO) in his inquiry report and furnished under an RTI query

Anil Galgali, RTI activist

Galgali had filed an RTI query on 16 June, when he came to know about Zore's complaint on the “EVM fraud” during the 16 February elections, and demanded details of the probe report submitted by the returning officer.

“The Buldhana Collectorate's election department in a written reply stated that at polling station number 56 in Sultanpur of Lonar town, when a voter pressed the Independent candidate number 1’s coconut symbol, the LED lamp flashed against the BJP candidate number 4’s lotus symbol, signifying that the vote had gone to the latter,” Galgali said.

However, after several parties demanded a repoll, the voting took place on 21 February for the same seat.

This case proves an EVM being vulnerable to tampering. It was brought to notice by a voter, confirmed by many other voters, the returning officer, and other officials who sent a report to the collector

Anil Galgali

Also Read: Mission Impossible? A Dummy’s Guide to Making EVMs Tamper-Proof

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