Maha Civic Polls Show EVMs May Be ‘Easily Vulnerable Machines’

• Protests against “EVM scam” after results for Maharashtra local body polls were announced
• Candidates point out to discrepancies in votes cast & votes counted
• Shocking stories emerge from across the state (for instance, a candidate from Mumbai got zero votes)
• The SC has already declared that EVMs in the present form are not foolproof; techies have successfully hacked into stolen EVMs
• The EC is likely to miss the deadline for making the system transparent by adding a paper trail

On the evening of 23 February, an unexpected development shocked Maharashtra as counting for local body polls in the state was ending. Violence erupted in Panchavati in the heart of Nashik city following complaints of tampering of EVMs (electronic voting machines).

The city BJP chief’s son was declared the winner from the ward, but the Shiv Sena claimed that the total of the votes received by each candidate exceeded the total number of votes cast.

This led to clashes between Shiv Sena and BJP workers in the streets. Soon, mobs began vandalising and burning vehicles. Police had to resort to lathi-charge and firing in the air to disperse the crowd of 800 people. Nine policemen, as well as some local residents, were injured in the rampage.

A similar charge of EVM fraud swirled in Pune, only the reaction was thankfully non-violent. In Yerawada ward, 15 candidates from different political parties registered a complaint against the Returning Officer (RO), alleging “misappropriation” of EVMs during the counting of votes.

They claimed that a total of 33,289 votes were cast, but 43,324 votes were counted. They demanded a re-poll using ballot paper. A police complaint has been registered against the RO.

As the State Election Commission, which conducts local polls, turned down the demand for re-polling, a united opposition first held a protest meeting. As more cases emerged, they took out a mock funeral procession of replicas of EVMs on Tuesday, which were then symbolically cremated at the Vaikunth crematorium.

Defeated candidates from all parties participated in this unusual protest; many of them had shocking stories to share.

BJP MP Sanjay Kakde, who had played a crucial role in getting criminals into the BJP fold, had accurately predicted the results for Pune. He had vowed to give up politics if his prediction proved wrong. Opposition parties now cite this claim as proof that the ruling party had manipulated the poll results.

‘How Can I Get Zero Votes?’

In Mumbai, independent candidate Shrikant Shirsat got zero votes at the booth near his residence in Saki Naka in the western suburbs.

Similar complaints are being reported from various parts of the state. Efforts are being made to collate data. A body called the Lokshahi Bachao Andolan has been formed in Nashik to collect data related to alleged tampering of EVMs.

In Nagpur, the NCP has threatened that it won’t let the mayor take oath unless an inquiry is conducted into the “EVM scam”. In nearby Amravati, an all-party bandh was called on Monday over the use of EVMs. It received a good response, with market places remaining closed.

Call for an ‘Anti-EVM Movement’

Along with Nashik, Pune and Amravati, a protest march was organised in Kolhapur too. Former High Court judge and social activist BG Kolse Patil is now trying to unite all these protesters and launch a state-wide agitation.

The paper trail which Kolse Patil is referring to is an idea the Election Commission of India is experimenting with. It’s officially called the ‘voter-verified paper audit trail’ or VVPAT, wherein a voter immediately gets a printout of his vote. This has to then be put into the ballot box. So, every voter gets to see that his or her vote is rightly registered and in case of recounting, the printouts can be counted.

The Election Commission tried out VVPAT machines in 8 Lok Sabha constituencies in 2014. This happened after the Delhi High Court ruled in 2012 that EVMs in the present form “are not tamper-proof” and the Supreme Court ordered the Commission to use VVPATs along with EVMs by 2019.

But the Election Commission is likely to miss the 2019 deadline, according to BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, who had led an anti-EVM movement when Congress was in power. He had said that “EVMs can be easily tampered with, manipulated as well as hacked”. But after the BJP came to power in 2014, his stance has changed completely and he finds nothing wrong in the system anymore.

Live Demonstration of EVM Hacking

Although the BJP is happy with the system today, before 2014, it would complain of misuse and malfunctioning of EVMs. In fact, Somaiya and Devendra Fadnavis, who is now Maharashtra CM, were present at an anti-EVM event in 2010, where Hyderabad techie Hari Prasad had demonstrated how easily an EVM can be manually manipulated at various stages.

Hari Prasad was later arrested for stealing EVMs from the collector’s office in Mumbai. The police officer who had handled this case recently told MaxMaharashtra:

The State Election Commission has maintained that the entire election process was transparent and foolproof. Talking to The Quint, Maharashtra State Election Commissioner JS Saharia admits that there are various issues involved in acquiring paper trail machines.

When asked about the protests in Pune, Nashik, Kolhapur and Amravati, he ruled out any possibility of re-polling anywhere in the state.

The defeated candidates in Pune, Nashik and Mumbai have announced that they will move the High Court against the “EVM scam”.

Once the matter reaches the HC, the Election Commission as well as the Centre will likely have to inform the court about the progress on introducing the paper trail (VVPAT) machines. For, the court of the land is already convinced that the present EVM-based system cannot be called foolproof unless a paper trail is added to it.