Return to ballot papers as EVMs can be hacked: Himachal CM Sukhu

Shimla: Elections should be held using ballot papers to clear doubts over the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) as technology can be hacked, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday.

Talking to mediapersons here, Sukhu said, "The EVM manufacturers have closed production and if there is doubt over their functioning, elections should be held using ballot papers on the demand of the public at large." The chief minister's remarks came days after the BJP-led Mahayuti swept the Maharashtra Assembly elections winning 230 out of 288 seats, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) finished a distant second with 46 seats.

"Any technology can be hacked, and even Elon Musk has said this," Sukhu said.

Several leaders of the MVA comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) have alleged irregularities in the functioning of EVMs, claiming a large number of complaints have surfaced against the machines.

Responding to a query on two years of the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, Sukhu said it has brought the economy of the state back on track during this period by changing the functioning of various departments, and would continue to take bold steps in the interest of the state's people.