sans-introspection-congress-cries-foul-over-evms-in-haryana

Congress has once again raked up a controversy over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after the Haryana State Assembly polls gave the BJP a hat trick far beyond the expectations of the BJP and its leadership. The Congress has said some of its candidates noticed the EVMs were charged to 99 per cent, suggesting that these had been tampered with and recharged. The results of these EVMs, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claims, went against the party.

 

In EVMs that showed a charge of 60-70 per cent, results favoured the Congress candidates. Congress won 37 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 48 seats in the 90-member assembly. Three seats were won by independents and two by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

 

News Arena India Editor-in-Chief Naveen S Garewal takes a closer look at the results and suggests that rather than blame the EVMs and cry foul; the Congress should examine the selection of candidates, many that formed part of the quota of central and state Congress leadership who lost, thereby kept the Congress away from cashing in on anti-incumbency of the BJP.

 

The Congress party has lost 14 crucial seats to the BJP by margins smaller than the votes secured by the second runners-up. Analysts suggest this outcome is largely due to poor seat selection and the impact of vote-cutters.

 

A closer examination of the results reveals that had the Congress party been more strategic in its seat selection and campaign focus, it could have potentially been in a position to form the government. The losses attributed to vote-cutters - candidates from other parties or independents who split the anti-BJP vote - have significantly altered the electoral landscape in favour of the BJP.

 

The impact of these vote-cutters varied across constituencies. In Sohna, for instance, the difference between Congress' defeat margin and the votes secured by the second runner-up was a substantial 37,333 votes. Similarly, in Narwana, the difference stood at 34,804 votes. These figures suggest that with careful seat selection and better vote consolidation, Congress could have turned these defeats into victories.

 

Even in closely contested seats like Dadri and Tosham, where the differences were as small as 1,755 and 1,602 votes, respectively, a more focused campaign could have swung the results in Congress's favour.

 

Though the Congress alleges wrongdoing concerning BJP's victory and the EVMs, it did not elaborate on this allegation. Even Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi posted on X that the Congress would take up complaints coming from several Vidhan Sabha seats with the ECI but gave no details of those complaints.

 

Regarding the functioning of the EVMs, it must be emphasised that they run on alkaline batteries (instead of electricity), so they can be used in areas that do not have electricity. According to the ECI, the control unit (CU) of the EVM has a power pack of 7.5 volts or 8 volts, and the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) unit, which is attached to the EVM, has its power pack of 22.5 volts.

 

The EVM batteries are manufactured by the two public sector undertakings that make the machines themselves, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).

 

In the Frequently Asked Questions section of its website, the ECI says: "The power packs of CU and VVPAT are periodically monitored, and the balance power status is displayed by the control unit as "High", "Medium", "Low", "Marginal" and "Change Battery" along with the percentage. The power packs are replaced from the "Reserve" power packs available with the Sector Officers when the "Change Battery" status is displayed by the CU."

 

ECI sources said a new battery usually lasts for an entire election and counting process and can sometimes be used in case of a re-election in that constituency as well. The display unit shows a "99 per cent" charge until the time the electric potential of the battery is between 7.4 volts and 8 volts, the sources said. Once the level falls below 7.4 volts, the actual percentage of the charge is displayed. When the battery reaches 5.8 volts, the display unit shows an indication to change the battery.

 

How long the battery lasts depends on the usage — how many votes were cast during the mock poll, how many times the votes were totalled by pressing the 'total' button, and the number of votes cast during the poll.

 

At the close of the poll, the presiding officer of each polling station has to submit a report to the EC about any battery change as a part of the overall presiding officer's report. The format includes the unique ID of the control unit, the reason for the replacement of the power pack of the CU, and the signatures of polling agents present.

 

The Congress has alleged that the party received serious complaints regarding the counting process from at least three districts, and more were coming in. 10-12 Assembly constituencies were affected, he said. "Does this not indicate a conspiracy? 

 

Wherever there was a 99 per cent battery charge, the BJP won. And where the battery is less than 70 per cent, the Congress won. If this does not suggest a conspiracy, what does? I hope the ECI gives us time, and we can put the complaints in front of it," he said.

 

However, the party has not explained the "conspiracy" or what it thinks is the correlation between the higher battery percentage and alleged tampering. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India has rejected claims by Congress leaders, specifically about complaints from Hisar, Mahendragarh and Panipat. The ECI has said alkaline batteries are used in the control unit of EVMs. New batteries are inserted in the control unit on the day of commissioning in the presence of candidates and are sealed.

 

In light of these developments, questions are being raised about the accountability of the Congress leadership that has betrayed the aspirations of the people. Most candidates recommended by senior Congress leaders, including party General Secretary KC Venugopal, have lost. A lady who he pushed for managed to secure just 8500 odd votes and finished fourth, two slots behind two other independents. Similarly, a candidate recommended by Kumari Shelia finished third behind a lady independent who was denied an INC ticket to adjust her supporter. Most old-timers supported by Bhupinder Singh Hood lost. 

 

Will Congress introspect and bring accountability or merely pass the blame to the EVMs?