Jankar has also offered to resign if the ECI agrees to conduct fresh by-elections. Failing the same, the MLA will then decide the next step of the agitation within the next 15 days. Jankar’s constituency includes the village of Markadwadi that had made history post declaration of results in Maharashtra on November 23, 2024. Electors had attempted to conduct a mock-poll with paper ballots as only 300 votes were recorded from a village where Jhankar’s supporters claimed to be 2,000. They were stopped in the exercise by the local authorities and police. A press conference will be held to announce next steps on January 24, 2025, at the Press Club of India, New Delhi, at 3 P.M. Former Justice Kolse Patil speaking on behalf of the movement, said, “we are fighting for the nation and want to produce evidence before the ECI against EVM manipulation” seeks appointment with CEC

Jankar has made it clear that he is willing to resign if the Election Commission does agree to his demand for a re-election using paper ballots. It is his claim that he got less votes from every village that were put in by the people in his constituency. He is determined to step down if the ECI conducts a fresh poll by the legally prescribed method i.e. Ballot Papers. As evidence, he has gathered around 1,76,000 notarized affidavits from individuals who claim to have voted for him, further strengthening his case. Today he submitted a sample of 1,300 of these in a bound volume to the ECI.

This move is part of a larger battle against the illegal use of EVMs and VVPAT machines, which, according to Jankar, compromises the integrity of the election process. Retired Justice Kolse Patil, speaking on behalf of the movement, emphasised that they are fighting for the nation’s democratic principles and intend to present evidence before the ECI. 

Fighting in country’s interest, citing evidence of EVM manipulation since 2014

Justice (Retd.) B.G. Kolse Patil, former judge of Bombay High Court, has long been at the forefront of efforts to challenge the alleged manipulation of EVMs. Speaking to SabrangIndia, Justice Patil said that we are fighting completely for the interest of the country, and have been fighting since 2014. He alleges that post 2014, the government had through a variety of manipulations effected varations in the electronic voting system that allowed for non-transparency. He recalls how he had filed a petition in the Supreme Court before 2014, and Justice Ranjan Gogoi had remarked that, ‘EVM is not dependable.’ That is why the VVPAT was introduced. However limiting possibility of scrutiny of VVPATs and introduction of external elements through the SLU (internet linkages to the ECI website) have ensured vulnerability of the entire system.

Want to produce evidence before the Election Commission: Justice Patil 

Justice Patil, speaking about the ongoing fight against EVM manipulation, emphasised the need to present concrete evidence to the Election Commission. He explained, “Now that he (Jankar) has been elected as an MLA, even he feels that EVMs should not exist for the benefit of the country. This is an exceptional case. When we lose, the Election Commission says we (are raising issue of EVMs only when we lost), so we should accept it! But here, we haven’t lost. Jankar has won. We want to change this system. And we want to provide proof for that. It’s not that we are talking casually; we are bringing proof. He has collected an affidavit from every voter in every village, and we want to present this evidence before the Election Commission. In the village where he should have received 1200-1500 votes, he only got around 300 votes. So, where did his votes go? When we were trying to establish this through a mock poll, you stopped it, which means you are hiding something. 

“Recently, advocate Mehmood Pracha also sought video footage from all constituencies in Haryana, and the High Court approved it. After that, the government changed the law. So, the extent to which the government will go has crossed all limits of hiding and lying is beyond belief. We are fighting against this” justice Patil told Sabrang India

Trying to meet Election Commission Justice Patil

Justice Patil also expressed frustration over the Election Commission’s refusal tactics to meet with the delegation. He stated, “We are trying to meet with the ECI. We went to the Commission this morning, but we were not allowed to meet them. We will go again at 4 pm today. We know that the Commission will not meet us. If they don’t respect the Supreme Court, why would they meet us? But we will expose this no matter what. This is for the benefit of the nation; we don’t have any personal animosity with the Commission.”

It is to be noted that Uttamrao Jankar, sitting MLA and Justice Patil were not able to meet the Commission on the afternoon of January 23 as well, but were able to submit 1,300 affidavits as evidence to the Commission. As told by Justice Patil, they made it to the reception of the ECI, and submitted these sample affidavits to the ECI. Justice Patil said that they are ready to supply the truck full of the remaining affidavits to the authority as well, if they demand the same.

NSP (SP) MLA Uttam Rao Jankar announced press conference

MLA NCP (SP) Uttam Rao Jankar, Justice (Retd.) Kolse Patil and advocate & national convenor of Mission Save Constitution, Mehmood Pracha, under the banner of Mission Save Constitution, have announced a crucial press conference regarding the ongoing fight against the illegal deployment of EVM-VVPAT machines in India’s election process. This press conference will take place on January 24, 2025 at 3:00 P.M. at the Press Club of India, Raisina Road, New Delhi. 

PRESS CONFERENCE
The winner MLA (Markadwadi area) Maharashtra offers to resign if @rajivkumarec @ECISVEEP ready to hold elections by ballot paper. Another #TruthOrDare for @narendramodi @AmitShah @RSSorg @BJP4India
FYI @RahulGandhi @kharge @priyankagandhi @Mayawati… pic.twitter.com/sc6xlIKujt

— Mehmood Pracha (@MehmoodPracha) January 22, 2025

Markadwadi and the beginning of the protests

The controversy surrounding the 2024 Maharashtra State Assembly Elections began in the village of Markadwadi, located in the Sholapur district. Villagers in Markadwadi, a predominantly NCP (SP) supporting area, became increasingly dissatisfied with the election results, particularly with the outcome of the Malshiras constituency. On November 23, when the results were declared, NCP candidate Uttamrao Jankar emerged victorious, but many villagers questioned the voting patterns (as they emerged during the counting/results) in their own village. Markadwadi, with a population of approximately 2,000, had 1,900 voters, and the results showed that BJP’s Ram Satpute had received 1,003 votes while Jankar secured only 843 votes. This outcome seemed implausible to the villagers, as Jankar had historically enjoyed significant support in the region. 

The plan for a re-poll with ballot papers

The villagers, frustrated with the electronic voting machines (EVMs), decided to conduct a symbolic “repoll” with paper ballots on December 3 to challenge the results and the credibility of the EVMs. They set up makeshift booths and electoral rolls, mirroring the official process. However, the authorities intervened with prohibitory orders and a heavy police presence to halt the protest. Despite the legal backing for paper ballots under the Representation of People Act, the administration deemed the mock poll illegal. The authorities insisted that the election process had been conducted transparently and declared the villagers’ attempt to hold a re-poll as unlawful.

FIRs and legal action against the protesters

In response to the planned mock election and following the unrest erupted in Markadwadi, the Solapur Rural police, day after filed an FIR on December 4 against newly elected NCP (SP) MLA Uttam Jankar and around 200 others for breaching prohibitory orders issued under section 163 of the BNS This came after the district administration had cancelled the planned re-polling exercise, which aimed to challenge the EVM results of the November 20 election. Despite the administration denying permission, MVA supporters, led by Jankar, decided to proceed with the ballot voting.

In anticipation of potential unrest, the district authorities also imposed prohibitory orders and deployed heavy police forces in the village. Jankar, who had defeated BJP’s Ram Satpute from Malshiras, by 13,000 odd votes, was present to support the mock polling. While the MVA supporters set up a pandal and made necessary arrangements, police held several meetings with the villagers and Jankar to persuade them to call off the event.

Protests in Pune, Sholapur and Akola

The dissatisfaction with the EVM results spread beyond Markadwadi. On December 5, protests erupted in Pune, Sholapur, and Akola, where demonstrators gathered to voice their discontent against what they called a “manipulated and fixed election.” The protests coincided with the swearing-in of the newly elected Maha Yuti state government, which further fueled public outrage. Demonstrators in Pune included leaders from the Indian National Congress (INC) and the UBT-Shiv Sena, who joined forces to demand an investigation into the alleged manipulation of the EVM process.

Growing public unrest and the EVM controversy

Across the state, allegations of EVM malfunctions and voting discrepancies became more widespread. Winning candidates like Jankar and Varun Sardesai from Shiv Sena (UBT) also raised doubts about the reliability of the EVM results. Sardesai noted the discrepancy between the postal ballot trends and the EVM results, which showed a dramatic shift in favor of the Mahayuti coalition, a result that appeared incongruent with the earlier postal ballot data. The public outcry grew as many felt the election process lacked transparency and fairness. In Solapur, local activist Raju Kohli voiced strong dissatisfaction, equating the swearing-in of the chief minister to the swearing-in of the EVM, not the will of the people.

As protests spread, the calls for electoral reform grew louder. More than 34 candidates across the state filed requests for verification of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) slips, highlighting the deepening concern over the EVMs’ reliability. The protests also saw participation from national leaders, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who led a rally in Delhi under the banner “Save Constitution, Save Waqf, Save Reservation, Remove EVMs.” These events marked a growing movement calling for the replacement of EVMs and a return to voting by paper ballots, which were seen as a more trustworthy method of voting.

Legal and Constitutional concerns over EVMs

The legal basis for the protests rested on the argument that the use of EVMs was not legally justified. According to Section 59 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, voting must be conducted through paper ballots unless the Election Commission issues a specific order under Section 61A to justify the use of EVMs. Critics also argued that the EVMs were being used without proper legal authorisation, leading to questions about the legitimacy of the voting process. This legal challenge formed the backbone of the protests, with activists and politicians calling for a revaluation of the electoral system.

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The post EVM row: Winning MLA from Malshiras (Markadwadi) issues ultimatum to ECI, demands elections by ballot papers appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Masih said he was separately marking them so that they wouldn’t get mixed up. To this, the bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud remarked, “You [Masih] had to sign the ballot papers only. Where is it provided in the rules that you can put other marks in the ballot papers?” LiveLaw reported.

The SC was posing questions to Mr Anil Masih, the presiding officer of the mayoral elections as to the reason for his ‘unusual conduct’ while counting the votes. The bench also opined that Mr Masih should be prosecuted for interfering with the election process. The Court said that instead of ordering a fresh election, it would order the counting of votes based on the existing ballots by a neutral Presiding Officer. The Court directed that the ballot papers in the custody of the Registrar General of the High Court be produced before the Court tomorrow at 2 PM in accordance with relevant steps for the preservation of the ballot papers for the scrutiny of the court.

Mr. Anil Masih, is a nominated member of the Chandigarh Municipality and belonging to the BJP, was appointed as the Presiding Officer of the Chandigarh Mayor elections. On February 5, the Court had directed the personal presence of Mr. Masih, after seeing the videos which suggested that he had put marks on certain ballot papers to deliberately render them invalid, helping the victory of the BJP candidate. The Court had also remarked that what the Chandigarh mayoral elections had witnessed was a “murder of democracy.”

Later, it said it was deeply concerned about the horse-trading that was taking place.

On Sunday, although the BJP mayor, Manoj Sonkar, resigned from his post amid rigging allegations, three AAP councillors joined the party in order to turn the tide in its favour in the event of a repoll.

Reacting on the development, AAP supremo and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said in Delhi today said that Manoj Sonkar’s resignation proved that the elections were manipulated.

“Now when the BJP can’t win elections, our councillors are being purchased and broken,” Kejriwal said.

AAP Punjab spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said that earlier, the BJP’s wrongdoings were caught on camera and were noticed by the Supreme Court. Now, the BJP are poaching AAP councillors overnight with an ‘Operation Lotus’, he said.

“I don’t think there has been any bigger mockery of Indian democracy,” he added.

“The world is witnessing the BJP’s greed for power”, said AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sonkar’s resignation and the alleged poaching of the three AAP councillors.

Today, Monday, February 19, in a detailed round of questioning by CJI DY Chandrachud, the Returning Officer, Mr Masih admitted that he did put certain marks on 8 ballot papers while the counting process was ongoing.

LiveLaw reports the exchange that may be read here.

In his defence, Mr Masih explained that he had only put markings (and not an X mark per say) on those ballot papers to ensure that they do not get mixed with other papers. He also informed that right when he did these markings, Mr Manohar and Mrs Premlata belonging to the AAP party came and started snatching and destroying the ballot papers. He further added that the Chandigarh Police Marshalls had to intervene and preserve the ballot papers amidst the said chaos.

The CJI however, still pressed as to what necessitated the presiding officer to make such marking in the first place. The bench asked him under which provision of the law was he entitled to make such markings, as his post as a presiding officer only allowed him to put his signature under each ballot paper and nothing beyond.

CJI : Ballot paper ko deface aap kyu kar rahe the? App aise kyu kare? Aapko sign karna hai? (Why did you deface the ballot papers? You had to sign the papers only. Where is it provided in the rules that you can put other marks in the ballot papers)

Masih: Sir I was highlighting that they are defaced

CJI : So it is admitted that you have put your marks on the ballot

Masih : Jee (yes) Sir

Considering the above response of the Officer, the CJI expressed his utter disappointment towards the flouting of duties as a Returning Officer which as per him deserved prosecution.

” His answer is very clear, he has to be prosecuted. I think interfering with the electoral democracy by a Returning Officer is the gravest possible thing.”

It was the claim of Mr Masih that he had only put marks on 8 ballot papers which were defaced. The bench took note of the fact that the present irregularities in the election process have led to horse-trading amongst political parties.

“The process of horse-trading which is going on is a serious matter…”

CJI directed that the Registrar General of the P&H High Court appoint a judicial officer who shall produce the ballot papers before the Court for their perusal.

The bench comprising the Chief Justice, DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was informed that the incumbent mayor from the BJP has resigned. Then turning towards the solicitor general, CJI Chandrachud further said, “Mr Solicitor, he has to be prosecuted. He was interfering with [the] election process”.

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Under PM Modi India’s democracy slid to autocracy: Human Rights Watch

By holding up bills, are Governors undermining democracy? 

The post Chandigarh Mayor Poll: Presiding Officer admits putting marks on 8 Ballots; ‘He Must Be Prosecuted’, Says Supreme Court appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government could bring back ballot papers for voting in the state. However, they will exist alongside instead of replacing the current Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) system. The government is likely to introduce a Bill to this effect in the Budget Session of the state assembly.

Assembly Speaker Nana Patole told News 18, “If the draft is ready, the bill can be introduced in the coming budget session.”

Hindustan Times reported that in response to an application by one Pradeep Uke of Nagpur, a meeting to discuss the possibility of reintroducing ballot papers was held at Vidhan Bhavan where apart from Patole, State Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh, the state’s chief electoral officer Baldev Singh and others were also present.

It is also important to note, that even if the Bill is passed, ballot paper-based elections can only be conducted for state legislature and local self-government elections. All alliance partners of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party) are reportedly keen to bring in the legislation, reports News 18.

Over the years several concerns have been raised by activists, advocacy groups and Opposition parties about the vulnerability of EVMs. Even after the introduction of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), the concerns haven’t abated, in fact they appear to have grown.

According to a recent report titled An Inquiry into India’s Election System: Is the Indian EVM and VVPAT System Fit for Democratic Elections? published by the Citizens’ Commission on Elections (CCE), the following lacunae have been found in the EVM-VVPAT voting system:

• The ECI does not appear to safeguard against the possibilities of ‘side-channel attacks’, i.e. hacking electronic devices through electromagnetic and other methods.
• Even the ‘software guard extensions’ of sophisticated Intel processors have proved vulnerable to interference and tampering.
• Just a few EVMs can swing election results for a constituency.
• That the processor chip in the EVM is only one-time programmable is also in doubt.
• In fact, latest EVMs use the MK61FX512VMD12 microcontroller supplied by an US based multinational, which has a programmable flash memory.

The report has raised concerns about VVPAT saying, “The ECI’s VVPAT system is not truly voter-verified because it does not provide the necessary agency to a voter to cancel her vote if she thinks it has been recorded incorrectly. Also, in case the voter raises a dispute, there is no way for her to prove that she is not lying. As such, penalizing a voter in such a situation is not correct.”

Although assembly elections are not due in Maharashtra this year, they are scheduled to take place in April-May in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. It remains to be seen if any of these states/union territories will follow in Maharashtra’s footsteps.  

Related:

CCE report raises concerns about EVM-VVPAT voting
The EVM Conundrum: Concerns over EVMs not invalid, must be addressed
ECI Silent on Serious Irregularities in May 2019 Gen Election: Constitutional Conduct Group

The post Maharashtra gov’t bringing back Ballot papers? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On Tuesday, October 15, the BhupeshBaghel government decided to move away from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and return to ballot paper voting in the upcoming elections to urban local bodies in Chhattisgarh, to be held in December this year.
This decision has come after the Congress and non-NDA parties questioned the effectiveness of EVMs, suspecting them to be vulnerable of tampering.

However, the Election Commission has made it clear that the decision of using the EVM voting system is irreversible. Itstated that ballot papers are ‘history’ and that EVM machines, system checks, safeguard checks and election protocols are ‘fully tamper proof’.

Chhattisgarh Urban Development Minister Shiv Daharia, who is a member of the sub-committee said, “A cabinet sub-committee constituted by the Chhattisgarh government to review the current local body polls on Tuesday recommended to use ballot paper instead of EVMs in the upcoming urban local body elections, besides holding indirect elections for the posts of mayors and chairpersons of the bodies”.

The ministerial panel also agreed to hold indirect elections for mayors, the decision also taken by the Congress government in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

He added that these recommendations of the cabinet subcommittee would be referred to the State Cabinet head by Chhattisgarh CM BhupeshBaghel for approval.

Dahariya hinted at bringing in an ordinance that could possibly be passed with a view of amending the State Municipal Elections Act to facilitate the use of ballot papers in the upcoming urban local body polls.

Protesting this decision, the BJP held a one-day sit-in demonstration in the state capital where party leaders opposed the State Government’s decision calling it the Opposition’s conspiracy to rig the polls.

Leader of opposition DharamlalKaushik called the decision of the cabinet sub-committee against the existing essence of democracy. “It appears the Congress is scared of losing the urban body elections after the poll debacle it faced in the LokSabha in Chhattisgarh this year,”

A statement by spokesman SaileshTrivedy of the Congress said, “The voters in Chhattisgarh have welcomed the decision to use ballot paper in the local body elections after controversy erupted over use of EVMs in the elections.”

Meanwhile the senior party leaders of the BJP handed over a memorandum to the Governor of Chhattisgarh in a request to not give consent to the ordinance.

Earlier, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy had also demanded the government to return to ballot papers alleging that EVMs may be ‘compromised’ and also that no hacking by the ruling party (BJP) and its cohorts can take place.

The NCP too had in July moved a proposal in the Legislative Council demanding that the upcoming assembly elections be held through ballot papers.

It is to be noted that the Election Commission did go back to ballot papers in Telangana’sNizamabadLokSabha elections instead of EVMs to accommodate 185 candidates that were contesting for the seat. The EVM can only be used for a maximum of 64 candidates.

While the EC has made it clear to go ahead with EVMs for future elections, It remains to be seen if the ordinance will be passed and whether the decision willalso be applied to elections for Assembly elections in the state in future.

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If EVMs are supposed to save time & be efficient, EVMs stored for months aren’t serving the purpose: Hardik Patel
Probe EVM Tampering: VBA to Election Commission
Countrywide protests against ‘EVM Sarkar’
 
 

The post Chhattisgarh to go back to ballot paper, dump EVMs? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: ANI

Hyderabad: Ballot papers will be used for polling in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana as 185 candidates, a majority of them farmers, are contesting in next month’s elections, officials said.
 
As Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can be used for a maximum of 64 candidates, the authorities will have to use ballot papers for polling in Nizamabad.
 
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter K. Kavitha is seeking re-election from the constituency, where the Congress has once again fielded Madhu Yaskhi Goud.
 
With the deadline for the withdrawal of nominations coming to an end on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar said 185 candidates, including 178 farmers, remained in fray in Nizamabad.
 
Turmeric and red sorghum farmers filed their nominations en masse to highlight their problems, especially with regard to remunerative prices.
 
We have to get over 15 lakh jumbo-sized ballot papers printed in the next 10 days and procure hundreds of ballot boxes. Discussions are on with various printers to get them printed on an emergency basis, and ballot boxes are being procured from other districts and neighbouring states. We also have to allot symbols to all the independent candidates. It may take a lot of time,’’ an official said in a report by The Indian Express.
 
This is the first time since 1996 that ballot papers are being used in the state. A record number of 245 nominations were filed in Nizamabad, and apart from the TRS, Congress, BJP and Left candidates, all others were farmers.
 
The Congress has fielded former MP Madhu Yashki Goud while BJP’s Dharmapuri Arvind is in the fray.
 
“About 175 turmeric farmers are contesting as Independents. This is to draw the nation’s attention to the plight of farmers who are not even getting minimum prices for their crop, and the government is doing nothing about it. More than 500 farmers were supposed to file their nominations but TRS leaders arm-twisted them and forced them not to file their nominations,” said farmer cooperative leader E Rajareddi in the report.
 
Turmeric farmers of Nizamabad have been protesting for several months, demanding that the government assure a minimum of Rs 9000 per quintal against the Rs 4,500 that is being offered now.
 
“We spend up to Rs 1.50 lakhs on each acre to grow turmeric; about Rs 7,500 per quintal. How can we accept only Rs 4,500 per quintal? We are suffering immense loses,” S Anvesh Reddy in the report, who is leading the protests said. Anvesh Reddy is chairman of Telangana Kisan Congress.
 
“We also want a National Turmeric Board to be set up which will ensure MSP and root out middlemen. In 2014, Kavitha had assured that the Board would be set up. She moved a Private Member’s Bill called Turmeric Board Bill in 2017 but it was never passed. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Bodhan, Balakonda and Armoor are affected,” he said in the report.
 
Rajath Kumar said the arrangements for the conduct of polling with ballot papers were still under discussion and a final decision would be taken by the Election Commission.
 
He also said a total of 443 candidates were in the fray for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state, going to polls on April 11. Medak constituency has only 10 candidates.
 

The post With 170 farmers filing nominations as protest, EC will use ballot papers in Telangana’s Nizamabad appeared first on SabrangIndia.

When media reports appeared on April 1 that electronic voting machines had spewed out slips showing just the symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the lotus, during a demonstration by election officials in Madhya Pradesh, rival political parties were quick to latch on to them.

In March, in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati had alleged that the voting machines used in Assembly polls held in the state in February-March had been rigged by the BJP. Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party had made similar allegations about machines used in the Punjab polls conducted simultaneously.

So when reports said the electronic voting machines used in Uttar Pradesh had travelled to Madhya Pradesh for bypolls in Ater constituency in Bhind district and Bandhavgarh constituency in Umaria district that are scheduled for Sunday, and a paper audit trail had dispensed only slips with the BJP symbol, they caused much alarm. The incident also led to the suspension of 19 officials, including a district collector and a superintendent of police.

A committee set up by the Election Commission has found that there was no truth in the allegations.

Scroll.in travelled to Bhind to investigate the allegations and speak to journalists who were the first to report the story and officials who were present at the demonstration on March 31. An examination of the reports that appeared in newspapers and on TV channels suggests that misreporting by one newspaper seems to have made it all the way to the national media.

What happened on March 31

On the afternoon of March 31, the Madhya Pradesh chief electoral officer, Saleena Singh, held a media briefing at a hall in the zila parishad building in Bhind town to discuss election preparedness in Ater constituency. Among those present were top officials of the state election commission, former District Collector Ilayaraja T, Superintendent of Police Anil Singh Kushwah, a group of mediapersons and a senior zila parishad officer, among a few others. During the briefing, Singh talked about the voter-verifiable paper audit trail machine and how it works in conjunction with the electronic voting machine. She went on to give an impromptu demonstration of how the audit trail works.

A VVPAT machine records each vote on paper and allows the voter to verify the paper record while casting the vote electronically. A slip with the chosen party symbol appears on a display screen for seven seconds and then automatically drops inside the machine.

As Singh pressed a button, the lotus symbol with the name of Satyadev Pachauri – the winning BJP candidate from Govind Nagar constituency in Kanpur during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, whose results were declared on March 11 – appeared on the display screen of the VVPAT machine. On seeing the lotus symbol, some reporters suggested in jest that the machine was biased towards the BJP. Singh responded to the comments. She laughed and warned them against reporting on such lines, saying she would take them to the police station if they did.

Some reporters took offence at the remark, even as Singh and her team of election officials went on to press at least two other buttons.

Till here, all the versions in the press reports match. The divergence is over what happened next.

A widely circulated video of the incident shows Singh’s exchange of remarks with the journalists while she tested the electronic voting machine but it does not show the results on the VVPAT machine.

What local papers reported

Three major Hindi newspapers have offices in Bhind – Patrika, Dainik Bhaskar and Nayi Duniya – and all three had reporters present at the briefing. There is a stringer who contributes to two major news agencies but he was not at the event. A stringer for Hindi news channel Aaj Tak was also present, among a few others.

Patrika headline on April 1: “Demo mein pehli parchi nikli Bhajpa ki, Congress ne kaha ballot paper se ho chunao” (BJP slip first to come out during demo, Congress asks for polls to be conducted with ballot paper)

The front-page report said the first slip that emerged from the VVPAT machine during the demonstration displayed the BJP symbol, and after some mediapersons raised questions, Singh threatened them. It went on to quote Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Govind Singh suggesting that the electronic voting machines were tampered with and asking for voting through ballot paper. The report did not say what results had emerged on the VVPAT machine after the buttons on the electronic voting machine were pressed twice more.

The report in Patrika on April 1 says the first slip to come out was that of the BJP with its lotus symbol.

However, the paper carried a second article next to the main report – headlined “Loktantra ki hatya ka prayas: Govind Singh” (Attempt to murder democracy: Govind Singh) – which had Congress leader Govind Singh’s take on the controversy. And in the continuation of that second story on an inside page, the reporter quoted the Congress leader as saying that BJP slips had come out twice when button number four of the electronic voting machine was pressed.

The continuation of the second report on Patrika.

When contacted, the chief of Patrika’s reporting team in Bhind, Ramanand Soni, said, “Lotus slip [symbol of the BJP] did not appear twice and we have reported the facts correctly.” The reporter, Subhash Tripathi, too stood by his story.

Nai Duniya headline on April 1: “Mukkhya Nirvachan Padashikari hass kar boli – press mein dia toh thane mein baithaenge” (Chief electoral officer jokingly said if you put it in the press, I will take you to the police station).

According to the report, the slips from the VVPAT machine emerged in this sequence: the first one showed the BJP’s lotus symbol, the second showed the Rashtriya Lok Dal’s hand pump, and the third showed the Congress’ hand. The report said the election officer asked the reporters not to publish anything about the VVPAT slips. Speaking to Scroll.in, the reporter, Abbas Ahmed, vouched for the accuracy of his report.

A senior officer of the district collectorate, who did not wish to be identified, and the chief executive officer of the zila parishad in Bhind, both present for the demonstration, also narrated the same sequence of slips.

The Nai Duniya report on April 1, whose headline focused on the exchange of words between the chief electoral officer and reporters.

Dainik Bhaskar headline on April 1: “EVM ka do baar button dabaya toh print huwa kamal ka chinh” (Pressed twice, EVM buttons produced slip with the lotus symbol)
The report said the BJP slip appeared twice even though the election officers pressed two different buttons.

When asked about the difference between his account and the reports published in other newspapers, the Dainik Bhaskar reporter, Lajpat Agarwal, initially said he did not see anything clearly after the first two buttons pressed by the Chief Electoral Officer but he saw the election officials pressing four buttons in total.

“The symbol of the flower [Lotus] had appeared but whether she had pressed the same button corresponding to the Lotus, there is no clarity on that. But a lotus slip had emerged,” he said. He still did not clarify at what point he saw two lotus slips emerging on the VVPAT machine.

He then went on to say how Saleena Singh’s remarks had offended reporters. When pointed to the Nai Duniya report that said the slips had appeared in a particular sequence, he said that account was correct. Asked why then he had reported that there were two slips with the BJP symbol, he turned defensive and claimed he had seen two slips displaying the lotus symbol lying near the VVPAT machine.

The last claim is questionable. As far as the functioning of the VVPAT machine is concerned, the paper slips drop only in a container inside the machine.

Ravindra Jharkhariya, news editor of Dainik Bhaskar’s Gwalior office, to which the team in Bhind reports, claimed his was the only paper to have published the facts correctly. He refused to comment on the sequence of slips reported in other publications.

“If there was no problem in the VVPAT machine and BJP slip had not appeared twice, why did Ms Singh threaten the media?” he asked, adding, “The Election Commission is now trying to suppress the issue through its report [ruling out tampering].”

The Dainik Bhaskar reported that two slips of the BJP symbol were produced during the demonstration in Bhind.

Report of Election Commission

On Friday, the Election Commission published its report on the incident in which it clearly stated that four buttons were pressed on the electronic voting machine and four separate slips were produced in the VVPAT machine. It clarified the sequence as – hand pump (Rashtriya Lok Dal), lotus (BJP), hand pump (Rashtriya Lok Dal) and hand (Congress). No news reporter contacted by us, however, happened to have noticed the first hand pump symbol.

The national media

It took a day for the story to make it to national newspapers. On April 2, the Indian Express published a report with the headline “Madhya Pradesh EVM trial reignites ‘tampering’ row, EC calls for report”.

Since it did not have a reporter in Bhind, the newspaper relied on the reports that had appeared in the local papers. It began by saying: “Following reports that a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail [VVPAT] machine used during a trial in Madhya Pradesh only dispensed slips with the BJP’s poll symbol…” But then, it also went on to reflect the confusion over what had happened in Bhind.

“There were varying reports of what transpired during the trial,” it said. “Some reports said the VVPAT machine dispensed slips with the BJP’s lotus symbol twice, although different buttons were pressed on the EVM. Another version, however, said different symbols were printed.”

The Times of India, however, dispensed with caution and termed the electronic voting machines “faulty”. In a report published on April 3, it said, “The EVM that triggered nationwide controversy after reeling out BJP voter slips during a dummy test in Bhind was routed here from Kanpur after being used in the UP assembly poll, an Election Commission team said on Sunday after testing it.”

While reporting that the VVPAT machines dispensed slips showing only the BJP symbol, NDTV attributed it to local media reports.

A report on Aaj Tak said: “EVM fails trial test in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind. As soon as a button on an EVM was pressed, the BJP candidate’s slip appeared on the VVPAT. Election Commission has sought a report on the matter.” The Aaj Tak stringer, Sarvesh Purohit, told Scroll.in that the BJP symbol did not appear twice, but he refused to say what he had communicated to his office.

A story on ABP News, however, claimed the VVPAT machine had produced two BJP slips. The reporter in the piece-to-camera is Brijesh Rajput, a Bhopal-based correspondent. Reporters present at the trial said Rajput was not at the venue on March 31.

When contacted, Rajput said button number four on the electronic voting machine was pressed twice – once by an Election Commission officer and once by chief electoral officer Saleena Singh. “So technically paper slips corresponding to BJP appeared twice on the VVPAT. But what actually created a controversy was the exchange of words between Saleena Singh and some journalists,” he said. Rajput admitted that he was not present at the demonstration, but said he had received information from reliable reporters who had attended it.

There is still a catch there. In his telephonic report during the news show, Rajput tactically avoids saying “two different buttons”.

The Dainik Bhaskar report, however, said that though different buttons were pressed, the BJP slip had appeared on the VVPAT machine.

What Election Commission said

The Election Commission sent a committee of officials to Bhind to investigate the allegations. On Friday, it held a press conference in Delhi where it announced, “The probe concluded that the EVMs used in the demo in Bhind was not brought from Uttar Pradesh. However, the VVPAT used in the demonstration was brought from UP.”

Chief electoral officer Saleena Singh was not available on phone on Saturday. But Sanjay Singh Baghel, the state-level nodal officer (Madhya Pradesh) in her office, clarified on the controversy. “The CEO’s remark [about taking reporters to the police station] that was highlighted in the media was technically correct but said in an informal manner,” Bagel told Scroll.in on Saturday.

He added, “First, the VVPAT machine did not show wrong slips. The problem was that it was not cleared. Second, misreporting on VVPAT results can attract punishment under Rule 45MA of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, and so the CEO warned some media persons against doing so. The police station remark was in relation to potential violation of the rule, which is punishable by imprisonment and/or penalty and/or both. But it was said in a highly informal manner.”

According to Baghel, the matter was blown out of proportion after some political parties (he did not name any) took to social media and the entire narrative changed. “However, a few media organisations had reported the matter right on the first day itself,” he pointed out.

So what happened, actually?

Officials said the problem was that the demonstration on March 31 was unplanned. The protocol for a demonstration is that the machines used are reconfigured with random symbols – not the symbols of the BJP, Congress or any other party in the election fray. The Election Commission clarified that the confusion took place because old data stored in the machine in Uttar Pradesh had not been removed. The Hindu reported, “The machine, that was kept in reserve for the Uttar Pradesh polls, had undergone a standard protocol of randomisation and loading of symbols, but the old symbols were not removed ahead of the same procedure at Bhind in Madhya Pradesh.”

Republished with permission from Scroll.

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