As YouTuber Dhruv Rathee publishes an interview of former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi amid the Opposition’s “Vote Chori” allegations, an older interview of Quraishi with journalist Ajit Anjum has resurfaced, in which he categorically rejected claims that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) could be hacked and opposed a return to ballot papers.
In the interview, conducted around two years ago, Anjum asked Quraishi whether EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) could be hacked. Quraishi explained the technology and security features of EVMs, including their one-time programmable memory and the random allocation of machines to polling stations.
SY Quraishi Explains Why EVMs Cannot Be Hacked
Quraishi said, “I categorically say this and have repeated it several times that EVMs are so designed that it can never be hacked. It has two factors. The software and technology and security is such that the chip that is inserted into it can be programmed only once. And we put only one time programmable read only memory, that is how it is made. When this machine is being made in Bengaluru or Hyderabad and if Ajit Anjum wants to be a candidate, it is not at all pre-determined which party you will be, which number your name will appear and so on. And when the machines are sent from the factory, only we know and can decide that how many machines must be sent and where. After that we do not make any decisions. The computer randomly decides which machine goes to which state’s district. And where that machine goes in that district’s constituency. And which booth that machine goes to in that constituency. All this is done randomly by the computer, even we do not know. Suppose the election is tomorrow morning, today we will do all the briefing for the officers and at that time the computer will tell us which machine goes to which village. And this machine is taken by a team of 5 people, this is an age-old tradition for easy coordination to assign one grandmaster and 4 assistants. That was not useful – it was like buy 1 get 4 free. So if the headmaster was corrupt, the 4 are subordinates and they were also corrupt. Now, the system is the 5 people who will be assigned, do not know who will be in their team. Today evening when they dispatch, no one knows who the 5 are – not even us, the machine will tell us. It will also tell us which machine goes with which person to which village. So where is the chance to manipulate? Also there is no fixed button for BJP/Congress or SP.”
Quraishi’s explanation centred on the one-time programmable memory used in EVMs and the random allocation of machines and personnel. He also stressed that no political party has a permanently assigned button on an EVM.
Why Quraishi Opposed Returning To Ballot Papers
In the same interview, Anjum asked about demands to return to the ballot paper system. Quraishi strongly opposed the proposal, arguing that ballot boxes had previously been vulnerable to looting and booth capturing.
He said, “Now they talk about going back to ballot papers. I am against it. Going back to ballot papers is a disaster. I am surprised at this demand and want to counter question them – why did we stop using ballot papers? During those days, goons would come and loot the ballot boxes. Have those goons reduced now? Have those goons become saints now? The same goons will come and loot the ballot papers. But I think that their number would have increased by now. How will you safeguard it? Always going back to ballot paper. What if same days return? Why did you forget so quickly why we stopped using ballot papers?”
Quraishi argued that returning to paper ballots would revive problems that had contributed to the shift towards electronic voting.
Dhruv Rathee interviews former CEC SY Quraishi to revive the already dead “Vote Chori” narrative.
But when asked earlier:
🔹 Can EVMs and VVPATs be hacked? Quraishi explained why they cannot be hacked.
🔹 Why not return to ballot papers? Quraishi explained how ballot boxes can easily be looted.
If the Opposition respects SY Quraishi’s views, why doesn’t it listen to him on these issues? Or do his statements matter only when they suit their narrative? 🤔
— Lala (@FabulasGuy) October 23, 2026
Subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube to get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
