On Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar once again dismissed charges of possible tampering with EVMs or their batteries. He also suggested introspection over the sample size chosen by exit poll agencies to avoid distorted expectations. The CEC also promised to develop an FAQ to dispel doubts about EVMs.
He said that over the past few elections, exit poll outcomes have been creating distorted expectations, and all responsible for this issue need to consider steps for self-regulation. “The gap between expectation and reality can lead to frustration,” he said, criticising some TV channels for running incorrect trends in an alleged bid to match the findings of their exit polls.
Addressing media persons after announcing the dates of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections, CEC Kumar replied to a question about the difference between the results of the Haryana Assembly elections and the drastically opposite projections by exit polls. The CEC also ruled out any scope for EVM tampering and promised to reply to all 20 candidates complaining about the voting machine malfunction in the recent Assembly polls. “The answers will carry details of when the battery was commissioned and where all it was used,” he said.
Expressing displeasure at rumours about EVMs, the Chief Election Commissioner said that sometimes it is said pagers can be tampered with, so EVMs can also be tinkered with, and sometimes it said the vote does not go to the candidate whose button is pressed. Indirectly answering the doubts raised by some Haryana Congress candidates who lost the election, the CEC said the batteries are loaded into EVMs when commissioning and even candidates’ agents are made to sign on the seal.
Some Congress candidates had complained on the counting day on October 8 that some of the EVMs were charged up to 99 per cent despite use for voting. To this, the CEC said: “EVMs have a single-use battery that is used at a stretch for five years. After commissioning, it is checked in mock polls, which are also held at polling stations, and the number of candidates is also different in all seats.”
–IANS
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