VFD | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Tue, 19 Aug 2025 13:21:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png VFD | SabrangIndia 32 32 EXCLUSIVE: Solid empirical evidence of tampering in Voter’s List mustn’t let us forget EVM Manipulations: Computer Expert Madhav Deshpande https://sabrangindia.in/exclusive-solid-empirical-evidence-of-tampering-in-voters-list-mustnt-let-us-forget-evm-manipulations-computer-expert-madhav-deshpande/ Tue, 19 Aug 2025 13:21:22 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=43227 Only because now we have solid empirical evidence of unparalleled tampering of voter list (what he dubs as ‘vote theft’) we must not think that the EVM integrity is not in question anymore, says VFD expert, Madhav Deshpande

The post EXCLUSIVE: Solid empirical evidence of tampering in Voter’s List mustn’t let us forget EVM Manipulations: Computer Expert Madhav Deshpande appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]>
Madhav Deshpande, with four decades of experience in computer science and a former Consultant with the Obama administration, in a special intervention with Vote for Democracy (VFD) has warned citizens not to brush aside the issue of EVM manipulation (what he terms as ‘vote hijack’). Explaining this phenomenon in detail at a recently held interaction with citizens activists in Bengaluru on August 16, Deshpande said that all the 3 parts of the process remain compromised and questionable: The electoral roll (voter list), the EVM on polling day and the EVM on  counting day. These are not mutually exclusive; they work together, amplifying the effect of dacoity (=theft + hijack).

A strong votary of preservation of data integrity and security, Madhav Deshpande has explained here how the entire electronic election cycle is ‘compromised by compromised data.’ He also urged the voters and citizens must not forget the obfuscation introduced by the “percentage” voting  instead of vote counts.

Diagram 1: Explaining Data

In the detailed and creative presentation, Deshpande explained that applying a “manual lock, key, to seal an electronic process” is ineffective as is the misplaced discourse on ‘whether or not the machine can ever go wrong or about “proving” if the “machine” is infallible.’ The focus of electors, citizens groups and the media –as also all political parties who are stake holders – should be about proving data integrity. Now, proving integrity means proving that data has remained unchanged across its entire path. In our voting process, the Voting Data Path is across the Ballot Unit (BU), Counting Unit (CU), the VVPAT and back at the CU. For complete Data Integrity, says Deshpande, it must be electronically proved that the data in BU (button presses) is identical to data in CU (both copies), as data in VVPAT. Therefore, since the protection of secrecy of the Vote is paramount, each successive data element (vote) must not be disclosed. Hence, a progressive checksum or hashsum (like CRC or MD5 or MD6) must be taken in every BU, CU and VVPAT, printed and handed over to candidates at the end of the day, polling day. FORM 17 was for paper ballot, it serves little purpose now. Now, a Checksum/ Hashsum is needed for electronic ballot. Hence, the Checksum must be again generated before counting and tallied with the EoD checksum to prove that the data is unchanged from the end of polling.

Diagram 2: Data Integrity

No paring of electronic devices –How else do we understand that the existing EVS (electronic voting system) is compromised? How do we understand also that the Data Integrity is compromised, which in turn means that every Voter’s Vote, the Secrecy and Integrity of every Ballot is compromised?

Above Deshpande has explained how their must be an electronic safety lock,  the Checksum/hashsum at every stage of the Voting Process, evidence of which must be given to every candidate at close of Voting, Start of Counting.

Now, he explains how more needs to happen. Diagram 3 (below) explains how  to combat the corrosive phenomenon of fake voters, duplicate voters and ghost voters with fake addresses the system needs to use an Aadhaar kind of Biometrics and Address database with an INDEPENDENT PC before letting the voter inside the polling booth premises. Second, the VVPAT unit, CU (Counting Unit) and Ballot Unit (BU) need to be ‘paired’. If the earlier recommended procedure of ‘electronic locking’ (checksum/hashsum) is applied and thereafter, the units are ‘paired’ the system becomes foolproof. Without this happening, between Voting Day and Counting Day,  the CU can be easily swapped: original CU can be replaced by another CU with stuffed votes. Worse, Votes can be “counted” from 2 different memory stores for results and then for verification.

Diagram 3:

Uniqueness is intrinsic to Freedom

In the words of expert Madhav Deshpande himself, “Among the many things that freedom entails, equality and uniqueness are two crucial and important aspects.

When one has a duplicate, one’s uniqueness is lost. Say there is a duplicate voter ID card for me. And let us say there are only 2 parties in India. I vote for BJP, while the other votes for Congress. Now, my vote makes no impact, as both parties get 1 vote in my name. In other words, my democratic value is reduced to 0. I am totally marginalized. In other words, I don’t matter anymore. This is not just scary, it is demeaning to each one of us.

Madhav Deshpande appeals, “Each one of us who values freedom must speak up against this marginalization. This is not about any political party.

If you value freedom, you will be up in arms against this.


Related:

Major Irregularities in 2024 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha Polls; Vote for Democracy

99.8% of 65 lakh voter deletions go unchallenged on 13th day of objection period

Vote for Democracy: Statistical, legal and procedural irregularities dot Bihar’s controversial SIR process

 

The post EXCLUSIVE: Solid empirical evidence of tampering in Voter’s List mustn’t let us forget EVM Manipulations: Computer Expert Madhav Deshpande appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]>
Major Irregularities in 2024 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha Polls; Vote for Democracy https://sabrangindia.in/major-irregularities-in-2024-maharashtra-vidhan-sabha-polls-vote-for-democracy/ Mon, 18 Aug 2025 11:50:29 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=43189 Vote for Democracy (VFD), guided by election experts M.G. Devasahayam, Dr. Pyara Lal Garg, Madhav Deshpande, and Prof. Harish Karnick, has released a constituency-level analysis of Maharashtra’s 288 Assembly seats revealing serious anomalies in the November 2024 elections. The report — “Dysfunctional ECI and Weaponisation of India’s Election System” — uses official Election Commission of […]

The post Major Irregularities in 2024 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha Polls; Vote for Democracy appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]>
Vote for Democracy (VFD), guided by election experts M.G. Devasahayam, Dr. Pyara Lal Garg, Madhav Deshpande, and Prof. Harish Karnick, has released a constituency-level analysis of Maharashtra’s 288 Assembly seats revealing serious anomalies in the November 2024 elections. The report — “Dysfunctional ECI and Weaponisation of India’s Election System” — uses official Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) data, plus ground accounts from staff and voters, to raise urgent questions about transparency and accountability. The report was formally released in Bengaluru on Saturday August 16 and may be read here.

Following on two earlier reports released by the citizen’s platform in 2024, the report on the Lok Sabha elections and the Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir state assembly elections, this 214 page report includes a detailed study of the manner in which data has been collected for the ongoing Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The large section of analysis that deals with Maharashtra reveals shocking discrepancies between official data published by the CEO, Maharashtra  and the ECI, Delhi, massive post-midnight unexplained surges in voter/elector percentages and disproportionate spikes in Elector numbers since 2019 (Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha) and 2024 (Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha). Apart from anything else the report lists the close margin seats (amounting to 133 out of the state’s 283 seats) where stakes were high: 25 seats won by less than 3,000 votes, 39 seats by less than 5,000 votes and another 69 seats with less than 10,000 — suggesting that small anomalies could change outcomes.

At the outset, the current report released by Vote for Democracy, lays out what the ‘Weaponisation’ of India’s Election System? (IES) has amounted to since around 2017 onwards:

“The EVM-centred voting system has four critical components. Microchips to record the votes as cast by the voter, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) to audit and verify that the votes are recorded as cast and counted as recorded and Symbol Loading Units (SLUs) that upload the name and symbol of the candidates contesting on a particular seat on EVM/VVPAT. The fact that post 2017, the EVS (electronic voting system) is no more stand-alone but linked to the internet with the SLU having a labile memory has made the system susceptible to manipulation/meddling. The fourth critical component in the IES is Electoral Roll which is the voter’s list and because of the methods adopted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) large scale ‘disenfranchisement’ of voters looms large. Cumulatively these constitute the ‘weaponisation’ of IES. If allowed to continue it could sound the death-knell of electoral democracy!”

The detailed report also lists, with close to two dozen tables and 21 graphs the key findings related to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections of 2024.

Image: https://newstrailindia.com/

Key findings (Maharashtra)

  1. Unexplained midnight turnout surge
  1. 5 PM turnout: 58.22%; midnight: 66.05% — a 7.83% jump (~48 lakh extra votes).
  2. Spikes: Nanded (+13.57%), Jalgaon (+11.11%), Hingoli (+11.06%), Solapur (+10.63%), Beed (+10.56%), Dhule (+10.46%).
  3. Historically, late surges are minimal.
  1. Close margins, high stakes
  • 25 seats won by <3,000 votes; 39 seats by <5,000; 69 seats by <10,000 — meaning small anomalies could change outcomes.
  1. Erratic and unverifiable voter roll changes
  • Between the May 2024 Lok Sabha elections and November 2024 Assembly polls — just six months — Maharashtra’s electoral roll ballooned by over 46 lakh voters.
  • The increase was concentrated in about 12,000 polling booths spread across 85 constituencies — predominantly in seats the BJP had lost in the Lok Sabha elections.
  • Some booths saw 600+ new voters added after 5 PM, implying an implausible 10+ hours of extra voting time that did not occur in reality.
  • Official elector data fluctuated wildly:
    • August 30, 2024: The ECI reported 9,64,85,765 voters, but the CEO Maharashtra’s own press release for the same date listed only 9,53,74,302 — a gap of over 11 lakh.
    • October 15, 2024: The CEO’s figure dropped slightly to 9,63,69,410.
    • October 30, 2024: Just 15 days later, the CEO’s figure surged to 9,70,25,119 — an increase of more than 16 lakh voters in two weeks.
  1. Large-scale election data mismatches (2019–2024)
  • In 2019, Maharashtra had 8,86,76,946 voters for Lok Sabha and 8,98,38,267 for Vidhan Sabha — an increase of 11,61,321 voters in just a few months. Votes polled rose from 5,35,65,479 (Lok Sabha) to 5,44,07,794 (Vidhan Sabha) — an increase of 8,42,315
  • In 2024, the state had 9,30,61,760 voters for Lok Sabha and 9,70,25,119 for Vidhan Sabha — an increase of 39,53,259 voters in less than six months.
  • Votes polled jumped from 5,69,69,708 (Lok Sabha) to 6,40,85,091 (Vidhan Sabha) — 71,15,383 more votes in the Assembly election than in the Lok Sabha election held the same year.
  • Between 2019 and 2024:
    • Lok Sabha voter rolls grew by 43,94,814, but votes polled increased by only 34,04,229.
    • Vidhan Sabha voter rolls grew by 71,86,852, while votes polled increased by 96,77,257.
  • The disproportionately high voter participation in the 2024 Assembly polls compared to the Lok Sabha— and the sharp, unexplained increase in registered voters within months — has not been explained by the Election Commission of India or the CEO Maharashtra.

Disproportionate Spikes:

  1. SIX MONTHS Between 2019 LS and 2019 Assembly:         +12.7 lakh electors.
  2. FIVE YEARS Between 2019 LS and 2024 LS:                    +37.9–45 lakh.
  3. FIVE MONTHS Between 2019 LS and 2024 Assembly:         +84.6 lakh.
  4. SIX MONTHS Between May–Nov 2024 (LS to Assembly): +41 lakh.
  5. SEVEN MONTHS Between March–Oct 2024 (LS to Assembly): +46.7 lakh.
  • These inconsistencies point to major roll integrity concerns and require urgent ECI and CEO Maharashtra clarification.
  1. Sudden vote surges benefiting specific parties
  • In the Lok Sabha elections (May 2024), BJP averaged 88,713 votes per Assembly segment.
  • In the Assembly elections (November 2024), BJP averaged 116,064 votes per seat — a sudden 28,000 vote increase per seat without matching demographic growth.
  • Examples:
    • Kamthi: Congress vote stayed flat (~1.35 lakh) while BJP gained 56,000 votes; voter list increased by 35,000.
    • Karad (South): 41,000 more votes than six months earlier — a rise not seen in five years.
  • In the Nanded Lok Sabha by-election, Congress won the parliamentary seat but lost all six Assembly segments in the same area, with 1.59 lakh fewer votes at the Assembly level despite simultaneous polling. 
  1. High-profile anomalies
  • Nagpur South West added 29,219 voters in 6 months — above ECI’s 4% verification threshold; BLOs confirmed incomplete checks.
  • Markadwadi village, Solapur, alleged EVM results did not reflect actual votes; police blocked a paper-ballot mock poll.
  1. Procedural and technical anomalies
  • Reports of routers near polling stations, sudden power cuts during counting, EVMs arriving late at strong rooms, CCTV failures, and alleged strong room breaches.
  • In some booths, EVM batteries showed 99% at counting start, inconsistent with normal discharge.
  • Mismatches between Form 17C (polling station record) and Control Unit counts.
  • VVPAT concerns: potential internet connectivity and no public audit of slips.
  • Questions over whether ECI independently controls EVM source code.
  • Conflict of interest: BJP members on boards of ECIL & BEL — EVM manufacturers.
  1. Data secrecy and legal changes curtailing scrutiny
  • December 2024: ECI amended Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules to restrict access to CCTV footage and Form 17C — just days after a court ordered their release in another state’s polls.
  • May 2025: Retention of election CCTV footage cut from up to one year to 45 days, enabling destruction of crucial evidence before legal challenges can proceed.
  • Despite 100% webcasting of polling stations, neither video footage nor VVPAT slips are available for public verification. 
  1. Inaction on hate speech
  • Despite 100+ complaints during the Maharashtra polls, including from specific constituencies and named leaders, no visible ECI action was taken. 

Why Maharashtra Matters

The scale, precision, and constituency targeting of these anomalies suggest a structured pattern of electoral manipulation — not random administrative error. Maharashtra’s 2024 Assembly election case study stands as a warning for future polls across India.

While the report briefly notes concerns over Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision of rolls, Maharashtra offers the clearest, most data-backed evidence of the “weaponisation” of India’s election system.

The press release dated August 16 echoes the demands raised in the Report:

  • De-centralise voter system: ECI to conduct only Parliamentary/Presidential elections; State ECs to conduct Assembly and local polls. They should be strengthened suitably.
  • Immediate forensic audit of EVMs, VVPATs, and voter rolls.
  • Public release of machine-readable rolls, Form 17A/17C, and CCTV footage.
  • Rollback of restrictive Rule 93 amendments; restore transparency safeguards.
  • Legislative guarantees for end-to-end vote verifiability.

 

Related:

The curious case of Mumbai Mahanagari’s 36 seats: who holds the winning card?

Congress raises alarm over manipulated voter rolls in Maharashtra Assembly elections

Vote for Democracy: Statistical, legal and procedural irregularities dot Bihar’s controversial SIR process

EVM row: Winning MLA from Malshiras (Markadwadi) issues ultimatum to ECI, demands elections by ballot papers

Markadwadi, Pune, Sholapur, Akola, are protests against ECI mounting in Maharashtra?

Bihar SIR: 65 Lakh electors flagged for deletion, SC said “if there is mass exclusion, we will immediately step in”

ECI to SC: Voter ID insufficient for Bihar roll, defends citizenship verification power

Punjab University’s former dean writes to CJI: Bihar SIR threatens democracy, alleges ECI overreach & voter disenfranchisement

Non-Electors Within Electors: ECI reports over 61 lakh potential exclusions

The post Major Irregularities in 2024 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha Polls; Vote for Democracy appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]>
Transparency demand Maharashtra: Prominent leaders among 104 seeking EVM–VVPAT inspection https://sabrangindia.in/transparency-demand-maharashtra-prominent-leaders-among-104-seeking-evm-vvpat-inspection/ Sat, 07 Dec 2024 10:18:18 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=39108 With a huge outcry with the non-transparent manner in which elections were carried out in the state, a staggering 104 (out of 288 candidates) have sought verification tests from 95 constituencies across 31 districts in the state; the ECI has been accused of not honouring even the bare bone reliefs granted by the SC on April 26, 2024. This amounts to be doubts being cast on election in at least 755 election booths.

The post Transparency demand Maharashtra: Prominent leaders among 104 seeking EVM–VVPAT inspection appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]>
Concerns over the transparency of the overall election process—doubtful and sudden increase in voters, surge in percentage, illegal deletion of voters from the lists and then the accuracy of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines have prompted 104 opposition candidates in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections to file applications with the Election Commission, seeking verification of the machines used.

These candidates, including several prominent political figures, have raised doubts about the overall counting process and sought assurance regarding the proper functioning of the electoral system. Reportedly, the Election Commission has received verification requests from 95 assembly constituencies spread across 31 districts in Maharashtra. Among the applicants are well-known leaders such as Rajan Vichare, Balasaheb Thorat, Rajesh Tope and Kshitij Thakur from Nalasopara. Other prominent candidates who have submitted their applications include Kedar Dighe who contested against Ekanth Shinde from Kopari Pachpakhadi, Yugendra Pawar who fought against his uncle Ajit Pawar from Baramati, Rohini Khadse daughter of NCP leader Eknath Khadse from Muktainagar, former minister Rajesh Tope from Ghansawangi, Hitendra Thakur from Vasai.

According to the judgement of the Supreme Court (in the midst of conduct of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls), dated 26, 2024, a specific modality was set for how the Microcontroller SLU Verification would/must take place. In what appears to be a violation of this directive, Returning Officers (RO) are telling candidates in Maharashtra that only a “mock poll” would be carried out.

Vote for Democracy (VFD) a citizens platforms, asked one of its experts Professor Harish Karnick formerly an alumni with IIT Kanpur to respond to what appears to be one more questionable abdication by the Election Commission of India.

This video below explains the entire controversy.
 

Details of Verifications sought

Notably, Thane district recorded the highest number of verification requests, with 12 applications filed. Pune followed close behind, with 11 requests. A total of 137 EVMs have been sought for inspection. In contrast, five districts — Sindhudurg, Amravati, Wardha, Nandurbar and Gadchiroli — have so far reportedly not report any applications for machine verification.

The Maharashtra assembly elections saw a surprise significant victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti, comprising Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction. The BJP emerged as the single largest party, securing 132 seats out of the 149 contested, while the Shiv Sena and the NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively. Together, the ‘grand alliance’ amassed 237 seats, a resounding majority in the 288-member assembly.

The Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has emerged as the largest opposition party in the Maharashtra assembly, securing 20 seats. The Congress followed with 16 wins, while the NCP (SP) faction led by Sharad Pawar ended with 10 seats. From the first day itself however, allegations of discrepancies in the counting process have sparked fresh debates over the reliability of EVMs and VVPAT systems.

Said one candidate to the media, “I have been in discussions with Uddhav Thackeray, who mentioned receiving complaints from party workers alleging possible tampering with EVMs. Similar complaints are coming from across the state, and many candidates, including myself, are applying for machine verification,” he said.

Citing the Supreme Court’s April 26, 2024 ruling, Khan emphasised the mandatory verification of 5 per cent of EVM systems — comprising the control unit, the ballot unit and VVPAT — for each constituency. This verification involves testing for tampering or modifications by a team of engineers from the EVM manufacturers.

According to the guidelines, defeated candidates positioned second or third in their constituencies can file a request for verification within seven days of the results. The verification process incurs a fee of Rs 41,000, refundable only if tampering is detected. The microcontroller chip in the EVMs is a one-time programmable component embedded during manufacturing, which ensures it cannot be reprogrammed after deployment.

A Sena (UBT) MLA from Mumbai alleged mismatches between the number of votes cast and counted in specific constituencies, raising doubts over the electoral process. “Almost all opposition candidates have expressed concerns about the functioning of EVMs,” the MLA said.

As opposition leaders push for transparency, these allegations bring renewed attention to the integrity of India’s voting system. While the Election Commission claims to have implemented measures to address such concerns, the widespread doubts raised post-election highlight the need for robust safeguards to maintain public confidence in democratic processes.

Related:

Markadwadi, Pune, Sholapur, Akola, are protests against ECI mounting in Maharashtra?

Congress raises alarm over manipulated voter rolls in Maharashtra Assembly elections

Congress alleges anomalous voter turnout surge in Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 in memorandum submitted to ECI

Democracy in question: Allegations of bias, EVM manipulation, and questions of legitimacy post 2024 Maha election result

Recounting ordered in Nashik West assembly election amid EVM tampering allegations

VFD’s draft reports points to “electoral manipulation and irregularities” in Haryana and J&K 2024 assembly elections

Elections amidst glitches: Maharashtra’s crucial poll day unfolds with complaints of barricading and EVM glitches

The post Transparency demand Maharashtra: Prominent leaders among 104 seeking EVM–VVPAT inspection appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]>
Vote for Democracy (VFD) releases report on the conduct of General Election 2024 https://sabrangindia.in/vote-for-democracy-vfd-releases-report-on-the-conduct-of-general-election-2024/ Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:39:36 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=36857 The report highlights the alleged malpractices occurred during the Lok Sabha elections 2024 and provides statistical insights into vote hikes and numerical discrepancies in recorded votes

The post Vote for Democracy (VFD) releases report on the conduct of General Election 2024 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]>
Introduction

Vote for Democracy (Maharashtra) released its comprehensive election report on the conduct of Lok Sabha elections 2024 during an event organised on July 22 at YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai. The publication, titled, “Report: Conduct of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 – Analysis of ‘Vote Manipulation’ and ‘Misconduct during Voting and Counting’”, describes the alleged malpractices committed during the election cycle, the role of the Election Commission of India and Returning Officers, discrepancies reported between EVM votes polled and count, and vote hikes (“dumped” votes) per phase-wise, state-wise, and nationally. The report underlines that in total 5 crore votes were hiked (“dumped”) between initial voter turnout and final turnout, suggesting that the hike disproportionately helped the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The press release issued by VFD notes that “serious questions have been raised about the discrepancies between the total votes polled and votes counted, as well as, substantial unexplained hike in the turnout percentages by the Election Commission of India (ECI). While we do not doubt the credibility of the ECI, its conduct during this Lok Sabha election has made us, as citizens and voters, seriously concerned about the fair outcome of the electoral process.”

The report, in total containing 4 chapters, analyses through a series of tables the possible manipulation of election results, which it suggests has helped the ruling dispensation increase its seats tally in spite of total reduction in its seats tally. In order to help candidates identify the potential malpractice(s) in a constituency, the report has attached a checklist for figuring out the possible manipulation(s). Furthermore, as a legal resource, to emphasise on the integrity of the election process, the report also provides relevant judicial precedents and election laws, which are fundamental to the governance of election in a free and fair manner. In particular, the malpractices affecting the election outcomes in Mumbai North West and Farrukhabad parliamentary constituencies have been detailed in the publication.

Questioning the Election Commission

While highlighting the electoral malpractices, delay in declaration of initial turnout figures, and substantial hike in final turnout figures, VFD critiqued the Election Commission of India (ECI) for its silence on these issues. Flagging the delay in release of initial turnout figures and unexplained hike in the final turnout figures, the report says that for Phase 1 “The ECI did not explain as to why there was a substantial hike in the final figures, nor did the poll body explain the long delay (11 days!) in releasing the final figures and that too in percentages only.” It further said that ECI has not answered any specific questions regarding the jump in final voter turnout and discrepancies between EVM votes polled and count till date. The report also claimed that some candidates were either denied or not issued Form 17C, which records the accounts of votes polled at the end of the polling day.

Vote hike benefit ruling alliance

VFD observed that the substantial hike in final voter turnout compared to initial turnout data suggests that the ruling dispensation has benefitted most likely from these hikes. The report says that “it is pertinent to note that by this method of Voter turnout Hike in this Phase 2, there has been a sharply beneficial results for the NDA/BJP: in most of the states e.g. West Bengal 3/3, Uttar Pradesh 8/8, Madhya Pradesh 6/6, Chhattisgarh 3/3, Tripura 1/1, Jammu and Kashmir 1/1, Karnataka 12/14, Rajasthan 10/13 and Assam 4/5. Such a trend is not seen in the other 6 Phases of Polling including in the same states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Rajasthan. In this Phase 2, the example of Kerala is unique in that the BJP in this Phase got one seat, stood 2nd in another seat and 3rd in other 14 out of a total of 20 seats in the state! There appears to be a clearcut manipulation here.” Furthermore, it said that close to 5 crore vote hikes has benefitted BJP/NDA to secure at least 76 seats, which it may have lost in the absence of such hike.

In particular, three tables, displaying the list of all the Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) where the winning margin/defeat margin has been under 1 lakh vote; where the discrepancies have been found between the EVM votes polled and EVM votes recovered within the defeat margin of 50000 votes or less; and shortlisted table containing constituencies where alleged malpractices have been reported are given in the report. Apart from these, more than a dozen tables are provided analysing several aspects of voter turnout hike, hike in absolute number of votes, and potential malpractice.

Conclusion

The report notes that “Vote for Democracy (VFD) is a Maharashtra-level citizens’ platform comprising individuals and organisations, established in 2023. Our mission is to ensure voter registration, raise voter awareness, and promote hate-free elections where accountability and transparency are paramount.” The findings of the study, it said, has been dedicated to citizens, civil society, activists and political leaders. Explaining the rationale behind the exercise, VFD said that umpteen media reports flagging the conduct of General Elections 2024 led it to conduct a thorough study of the electoral conduct on part of the Commission and analysis of the election exercise and final results.

While releasing the VFD Lok Sabha 2024 report, Teesta Setalvad said that the primary need to release the report came from the concern regarding manipulation of votes apart from the inaction of the ECI over several infringement of poll code and election laws during the conduct of general election, including its silence on the issue of hate speech.

MG Devasahayam noted that voters rights to know, a fundamental democratic principle, was violated by the conduct of the Election Commission. He remarked that the ECI committed fraud on the people of India by blatantly ignoring the Supreme Court directions, making subsequent corrections in the uploaded data, refusing Form 17C to some of the candidates, and remaining absent during the entire election cycle. Furthermore, he said that selective variation of votes has been observed in at least 80 constituencies and circumstantial evidence suggests manipulation of votes, resulting in the mandate being snatched away from the people. He also flagged other issues, including ballot paper manipulations, lack of CCTVs in the strong room, changing of EVM machines, and manipulation in data released.

Sebastian Morris observed that compared to the challenges faced while using ballot papers, EVMs are more vulnerable to being manipulated and given the decline in independence of constitutional bodies, this raises serious concerns. Morris said that right from the election of the ECI members, to selective interventions on violation of election rules, the behaviour of the ECI has been a sham. He also commented on the issue of delay in release of voter turnout data and subsequent hikes reported in such data and further noted that in as many as 79 seats, the hike in number of votes has been more than victory margins.

Dr. Harish Karnick, a retired IIT Kanpur Professor, said that ECI’s refusal to conduct complete cross-verification of EVM votes and with VVPAT remains unjustified, especially given the unexplained delay in the release of initial turnout data and subsequent hike in final turnout data. Dr. Karnick maintained that from the whole VVPAT fiasco to the erosion of the voter’s right to know who they voted for, there are records of these manipulations but no answers. He emphasised on the point that EVMs have exacerbated existing certain gaps in the electoral process, and ECI seems to have exploited those gaps.

Following on the grievances and issues raised in the said report, a joint legal notice was sent to the ECI by the members of the various civil society groups on July 18. The notice which was addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, and Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, demanded the following interventions from the ECI:

  1. Thorough investigation into the issues raised and the irregularities/illegalities pointed out in the Notice for the information of the voting public who are the real stakeholders in any election.
  2. Immediate remedial action on all the issues raised.
  3. Setting aside the election of the illegally returned candidates on grounds of non-compliance with the provisions of the Constitution or of RP Act or of any rules or orders made under this Act.
  4. Immediate registration of FIR Under Section 129 of the RPA 1951, Section 65,66,66F of the IT Act, 200 and IPC Sections 171F/409/417/466/120B/201/34 and investigation into the roles of all involved, including ECI officials, BEL and ECIL engineers, and beneficiary parties.
  5. Countermanding the election in the constituencies where large-scale spurious injection of votes have taken place as per the list in Annexure and ordering re-election.
  6. Passing such other orders and further orders as may be deemed necessary on the facts and in upholding integrity and fairness of the elections for the future also.

Full Report is available on https://votefordemocracy.org.in

The post Vote for Democracy (VFD) releases report on the conduct of General Election 2024 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

]]>