New Delhi: On Monday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal raised allegations over the BJP’s landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh, demanding that the Election Commission release electronic voting machines for investigation into allegations of tampering and deliberate fixing.
Talking to media, he called for the EC to come clean on the “sanctity of EVMs” days after a device in Madhya Pradesh appeared to register votes only for the BJP.
“We demand the EC release the EVMs so that it is open to scrutiny, we will investigate. Recent observations are alarming, Paper Ballot should be considered to replace EVMs,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal is at the forefront of a group of politicians demanding the repeal of EVMs who say that the devices have been tampered with to benefit the BJP. The concern was first raised after the BJP’s unexpectedly handsome victory in UP.
The current row erupted after a purported video of EVM trial ahead of by-polls in Madhya Pradesh showed the paper trail attached to it generating a receipt for the BJP when state chief electoral officer Saleena Singh pressed the button for the Samajwadi Party candidate.
A Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail or VVPAT allows a voter to know if the machine registered a vote for the candidate selected. The slip is visible for seven seconds before it drops into a box.
Kejriwal has been joined by the Congress in demanding that ballot papers be brought back for future polls. The EC has dismissed the allegations and said its systems were tamper proof, asking the AAP to introspect on its poll performance – a comment that Kejriwal and other leaders have bristled against.