Congress calls for stronger EVM security after ‘poll chaos’

ITANAGAR, Apr 22: Following unprecedented incidents of “booth capturing and poll-related violence” during the recent Parliamentary and Assembly elections in the state, the Congress has urged additional security measures for the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) Strong Rooms across the state.

In a letter addressed to state chief electoral officer Pawan Kumar Sain on Monday, Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Nabam Tuki highlighted incidents where polling officers were reportedly chased away, preventing genuine voters from casting their votes.

The letter alleged that only BJP agents were allowed to cast votes on behalf of all voters.

Expressing concerns over the security of polled EVMs in the Strong Rooms, Tuki, also a contesting INC MP Candidate of 1-Arunachal West Parliamentary Constituency, pointed out past incidents in other states where the ruling BJP Government was accused of replacing or exchanging polled EVMs with manipulated ones.

He emphasized the need for additional security measures to prevent any mishap or manipulation of the EVMs in Arunachal Pradesh.

“It is quite evident from the past incidents that the polled EVMs were replaced or exchanged with the manipulated EVMs by the ruling BJP government in various states across India during the 2014 and 2019 General Elections. Doubts and suspicions arose when there was a mismatch in the election results from the polled EVMs. Sometimes, the numbers of votes of the results were higher than that of the actual polled votes. This time the state of Arunachal has recorded only 65% votes, due to which the BJP is worried. In such situations, the ruling BJP government could manage the margins by stealing, exchanging, or replacing the targeted EVMs from the strong rooms,” Tuki said.

Tuki also raised doubts about the effectiveness of CCTV surveillance, citing frequent power disruptions in the state and the lack of heavy-duty power generators for backup supply to the EVM Strong Rooms.

“Another reason is that the duration between the poll and the result date is questionable, as the gap is more than one month. In this case, no party will be able to guard the EVM strong rooms for so long. Even though CCTVs are installed in and outside the strong rooms, it is doubtful as there are frequent disruptions of power supply in the state and there are no extra arrangements for backup supply of power to the EVM strong rooms,” Tuki said.

Considering these concerns, Tuki urged the Election Commission to allow all political parties to lock the EVM Strong Rooms with their respective party's own locks, in addition to those locked and sealed by the returning officer and poll teams.

This, he said, would instil trust and confidence in all political parties and ensure the security and protection of the polled EVMs.