He has further stated that there is reason to believe that there has also been tampering with the Electronic Voting Machines. The successful candidate Mr. Ravindra Waikar has polled 4,52,644 votes and Kirtikar polled 4,52,596 votes. He is therefore at Serial No. 2, i.e. immediately behind the candidate declared winner. Kirtikar is also in the process of challenging the aforesaid election in Court.

Significantly, in this communication he has drawn attention to Paragraph 76 of the Judgement passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Association for Democratic Reforms VS Election Commission of India and Ors.  Copy of which is enclosed herewith. Paragraphs 76 (a) and 76 (b) of the said judgement are reproduced as under:-

76. Nevertheless, not because we have any doubt, but to only further strengthen the integrity of the election process, we are inclined to issue the following directions:

(a) On completion of the symbol loading process in the VVPATs undertaken on or after 01.05.2024, the symbol loading units shall be sealed and secured in a container. The candidates or their representatives shall sign the seal. The sealed containers, containing the symbol loading units, shall be kept in the strong room along with the EVMs at least for a period of 45 days post the declaration of results. They shall be opened, examined and dealt with as in the case of EVMs.

(b) The burnt memory/microcontroller in 5% of the EVMs, that is, the control unit, ballot unit and the VVPAT, per assembly constituency/assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency shall be checked and verified by the team of engineers from the manufacturers of the EVMs, post the announcement of the results, for any tampering or modification, on a written request made by candidates who are at SI.No.2 or Sl.No.3, behind the highest polled candidate. Such candidates or their representatives shall identify the EVMs by the polling station or serial number. All the candidates and their representatives shall have an option to remain present at the time of verification. Such a request should be made within a period of 7 days from the date of declaration of the result.

Kirtikar has therefore exercised his right towards “checking and verification of the burnt memory/microcontroller i.e. the control unit, ballot unit, the VVPAT, the microprocessor and the software loading unit by the team of engineers from the manufacturers of the EVMs.” He has also state dearly that he would like to remain present at the time of the aforesaid checking/verification.  Therefore, he has required adequate written notice in order to enable me or my representative to be physically present when the said checking/verification is scheduled to take place.

Most significantly, and this is crucial to transparency activists and election watchers concerned that the election process is free and fair, Amol Kirtikar has also requested for a copy of the Technical SOPs issued by the Election Commission of India pursuant to specific directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 26 April 2024.

Whilst he and his team have accessed the Administrative SOP, the Technical SOP guaranteeing the integrity of the SLU (symbol loading unit) and microprocessor is not accessible on the ECI Website.  It is this SOP that will ensure and guarantee due observance of directives of the Supreme Court of India.  Interestingly, one of these Administrative SOPs was issued on April 29, 2024 after the first two phases of polling had already taken place, the second one is dated June 1, 2024 i.e. the last phase of polling.

Experts have told Sabrang India that the Administrative SOPs issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) pursuant to extremely critical and contested proceedings before the Supreme Court of India (SCI) in no way strictly ensure that the storage of these units will be safe and secure. This issue could also be a matter of serious challenge in the near future.

Kirtikar has lodged a complaint on several counts even on the day of counting itself, i.e. June 4, 2024 and these issues will be subject matter of the election petition that is required to be filed within 45 days.

Meanwhile media reports on June 10 that the Vanrai police are investigating allegations from losing candidate Amol Kirtikar that man close to his rival might be involved in foul play. A  “mysterious mobile phone” found on vote-counting day at the NESCO centre has kicked up a controversy, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate, Amol Kirtikar, who lost by only 48 votes, accusing his rival, Shiv Sena MLA Ravindra Waikar, of manipulating poll results. An ECI staffer found in possession of the device, banned inside counting centres, is under scrutiny while police are scrutinising the phone’s call records.

Waikar won the hotly contested Mumbai North West seat by a mere 48 votes. According to Kirtikar, the voting was stopped by a representative inside the NESCO centre between 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm when he was leading by 651 votes. He alleged that the results were unaccountably then declared, stating that he had lost the contest by 48 votes.

SOP dated April 29, 2024

ECI SOP dated June 1, 2024

Supreme Court Judgement dated April 26, 2024

Insert Kirtikar’s letter to the Election Commission of India, demanding a probe into mysterious presence in the booth

Related:

My June 4 Story: The Day Results to the 2024 Elections came in

How vote splitting by VBA shapes Maharashtra election outcomes

Unboxing the Inbox: Decoding the “Viksit Bharat Sampark” Controversy and its Shadow over Indian Elections

Rising tide of hate speech marks India’s general assembly election campaigns

The post M’tra: Shiv Sena UBT’s Amol Kirtikar from Mumbai NW alleges election manipulation, files complaint with CEC, SEC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Representation Image

Every BJP worker in Chhattisgarh knows that situations are dire for the party during this election. The officers who trust the management have planned something to win on the day votes will be counted. If you are a voter in Chhattisgarh, the following things will happen on that day. If Congress, the election commission and the vote counters are aggressive and alert, they still have time to liberate the state from BJP.
 

1. With the help of administrative officials, BJP will play its games in those seats in constituencies where there is a match between three different factions. 
2. BJP also has eyes on those seats where Congress won in the last election with a less margin. 
3. You must have noticed that many places had defunct and damaged EVM machines on the day of voting. The conspiracy was to damage the machines so that the people who came early morning to vote would not return to cast them. The party knows that the people are disappointed with the rule and how the party has conducted itself in the last five years. They would want to take revenge the first chance they get by voting as early as possible. It should be noted that most machines went defunct in the 8-11 am slot. Most damaged machines were found in the areas with a strong Congress hold. It was Congress who complained to the EC that EVMs were not functioning. Did BJP complain about anything? Remember that all the damaged machines were from Gujarat. The same region from where PM Modi shouts about Digital India. 
4. On the day of voting, BJP tactfully and cleverly manipulated the machines by using time management. 
5. In the early phases of vote counting, Congress will be ahead and then BJP will start soaring. 
6. BJP will win in the seats which were being contested by three or four factions so that nobody suspects anything. 
7. If there is a strong competition between parties and if Congress is in a position to win from a small margin, the returning officer can play BJP’s agent and announce the result in their favour. Once he gives the results, that’s the end of it. Then the case will keep dragging just like Mohammad Akbar’s case. Ramesh Bais lost the Lok Sabha election in the same way because of the returning officer of Raipur. After fighting the case in the court for many years, the order came in their favour.  
8. The party and the agent’s objection during the counting process is of particular importance. If the agent or the party can not object on time, the game changes.  
9. The agent who sits on the counting table is of special importance. The people of the ruling party make special purchases here. 
10.  If the receipt from the VV PAT and the number of votes cast in the machine are different, understand that the game has already been played. How many people cast their ballot in which booth, every agent has this knowledge. VV PAT receipts should be counted without mistake. Along with the information that which party received more slips and which ones saw a decline.  
11. Be alert that the results for the seats which are being gamed by BJP will be delayed. Congress will have to show strength and resistance when the votes are counted.

 
(Note: The above article was shared by a senior journalist from Chhattisgarh. Due to critical reportage on the oppressive policies of the government, he was transferred to another state before the election.)
 

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