Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Explained: Did EVMs register ‘extra votes for BJP’ in mock polls?

On April 17, Onmanorama reported that during the mock setup of EVMs in Kasaragod, four machines had printed extra VVPAT slips showing the BJP's symbol, which was questioned by agents of CPM and Congress candidates. The Chief Electoral Officer, Sanjay Kaul, dismissed these reports, stating they were baseless.

The Election Commission contended before the Supreme Court on Thursday that claims regarding four electronic voting machines (EVMs) wrongly registering votes for the BJP during mock polls in Kerala were false.

The matter was brought to the attention of a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta by advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Bhushan stated that four EVMs had allegedly malfunctioned during the mock polls conducted in Kasaragod district, Kerala, on April 17.

The Chief Electoral Officer, Sanjay Kaul, dismissed these reports, stating they were baseless. The Election Commission contended that the claims were false after consulting with the District Collector, Inbasekar K.

Responding to this, the Bench directed senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the Election Commission, to “check it up”. Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Nitesh Kumar Vyas assured the court that a detailed report would be submitted.

What happened during the mock polls?

On April 17, Onmanorama reported that during the setup of EVMs in Kasaragod, four machines had printed extra VVPAT slips showing the BJP's symbol, which was questioned by agents of CPM and Congress candidates.

The District Collector, Inbasekar, refuted these claims during a press conference, asserting that there were no issues during the setup of EVMs at the Kasaragod Government College. Despite denials by electoral officers, official reports by the Assistant Returning Officer and the Collector confirmed a different account.

The Assistant Returning Officer's report highlighted that during mock polling, certain machines printed additional slips bearing the symbol of the first candidate, the BJP's M L Ashwini, identified by the lotus symbol. These slips, marked 'not to be counted', were longer than standard ones.

According to a follow-up published by Onmanorama, the subsequent report from District Collector Inbasekar to Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul provided further specifics. It identified the serial numbers of the affected VVPAT machines: VVTED41294, VVTEF82139, VVTEJ14797, and VVTED49299. These machines printed one extra slip each displaying the BJP's lotus symbol when the central unit was turned on for self-checking.

Additionally, the report mentioned that two of these problematic machines (VVTED41294 and VVTEJ14797) had to be replaced due to technical issues. The other two machines underwent rigorous mock polling before being deemed operational. UDF and LDF agents confirmed that these machines functioned normally during subsequent tests, the publication reported.

The Collector's inquiry into the incident attributed the cause to engineers from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), the company responsible for manufacturing the EVMs. The problem arose due to a procedural error during the commissioning phase. Specifically, the Collector's report alleged that BEL engineers Pawan Kumar Mishra and Shivam Yadav failed to wait for the complete printing of election symbols on the VVPAT slips before disconnecting, resulting in the incorrect printing of slips showing the BJP symbol.

However, Onmanorama also notes that while the press statement from the Chief Electoral Officer released on Thursday acknowledged the existence of extra slips marked 'not to be counted', it did not explicitly mention the BJP symbol that appeared on these extra slips.