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Its electoral expectations and calculations gone wrong in Haryana, the Congress Tuesday took the unprecedented step of declaring that it will not accept the verdict, alleging there was a “conspiracy” hatched through “manipulation” of Electronic Voting Machines.
The Congress allegation – it is the first time that a mainstream party has refused to accept the mandate alleging manipulation of EVMs – came even as its stalwarts in Haryana, Kumari Selja and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, conceded defeat with Selja targeting the Hooda camp for the loss. Hooda, on his part said, he would accept the results “under protest” although he was “surprised” by the outcome.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh said, “I would like to reiterate that the results in Haryana are unexpected, surprising and that we don’t accept them because this is a defeat of democracy and a win of the device.”
He said the party has received “very serious complaints on the process of counting, the functioning of EVMs in at least three districts. There are more that are coming in.”
“It (the verdict) goes against ground reality. It goes against what people in Haryana had made up their mind for, which was for change and transformation. Under these circumstances, it is not possible for us to accept the results that have been announced today. Serious questions have been raised by our candidates… We will bring it to the notice of the EC. What we have seen today in Haryana is a victory for manipulation, a victory for subverting the will of the people and it is a defeat for transparent, democratic processes. The chapter on Haryana is not complete,” he said.
Asked what message is the Congress sending to voters by taking different stands on the results in Haryana and J&K, Pawan Khera, who heads the party’s Media and Publicity Department, said, “It would have been strange if we had said that the machines malfunctioned across Haryana. We are not saying the machines malfunctioned everywhere in Haryana. Take for example, Narnaul Assembly. It can’t be a coincidence. The machine units which had a battery percentage of 99 have defeated us, and those which had less battery like 60-70 per cent have given us wins. This can’t be a coincidence.”
He said similar issues have been reported in Hisar, Mahendergarh and Panipat districts.
Ramesh said that as per the party’s estimate, there are 10-12 seats in the state which would have been affected by EVMs malfunctioning. “It could be more than this,” he said. “The ECI is our first stop… We will seek time from them. Then, afterwards whatever has to be done will be done,” he said.
While the Election Commission did not comment on the allegation regarding batteries, sources in the poll panel said the process of commissioning EVMs and close of polls is done in the presence of candidates and their agents.
When a new battery is installed, it has a capacity of 7.5 volts or 8 volts. Until the battery capacity is between 7.4 volts and 8 volts, it shows it has 99% charge, the sources said. When it dips below 7.4 volts, it starts showing the actual percentage – between 98% and 10%. When it reaches 5.8 volts, or 10% charge, there is an indication on the display unit to change the battery.
Two EC sources said no candidate or their agents objected at the time of close of polls. The life of a battery depends on how many mock polls have been conducted using it before a poll, but a battery can remain at 99% for an entire poll process, the sources said.
According to another source with knowledge of the functioning of EVMs, the batteries usually last for an entire election and counting process. However, battery usage depends on the number of votes cast, the number of times the total votes are checked by pressing the total button, and the duration of the mock poll. It is possible for a battery to discharge faster than another, the source said.
According to the EC’s EVM Manual, polling agents of the candidates have to be present in case a battery or power pack of the EVM control unit (CU) is to be changed during polls.
“In case the power pack of CU does not function properly or shows low battery, replace the power pack of CU. For this purpose, the presiding officer shall replace the power pack of CU in presence of polling agents and sector officer and again seal the battery section of CU with address tag and obtain their signatures,” the manual states. The presiding officers have to submit a report to the EC in case of battery change during polls.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said “the result of Haryana is unexpected”.
“The party is assessing the public opinion. After talking to our ground workers, getting complete information and checking the facts, a detailed response will come from the party. We thank the people of Haryana for voting for the Congress party. Our hardworking workers need not feel disappointed. Our fight against dictatorship is a long one,” Kharge said in a post on X.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi told The Indian Express: “EVM is an issue that has been raised as a concern multiple times. We have asked EC to ensure nothing is wrong. Every time we talk about it, EC compares them to pagers. Now the Israel-Palestine war has shown that it can be done. It is for the EC to now assure everyone that EVMs cannot be tampered with. Having said that, I am sure the Congress will also reassess their candidate selections, their ground work and their party’s internal dynamics.” RJD spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta said, “Two election results came in a day. In J&K, the updation on the Election Commission website was perfect. But in Haryana, the updation was delayed. Wherever there was delay in updation, the BJP won. These are electronic machines. Why should there be a delay? Prima facie, there is something fishy. We want to ask the Election Commission what is happening.”
SP spokesperson and MP Rajeev Rai said that the SP doesn’t trust the EVMs irrespective of the election results. “Even when we won the Lok Sabha elections, we were against the EVMs and had said that the ballot paper must come back. We reiterate our stand today – our party and the people of this country don’t trust EVMs and want them to be removed.”
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said if the Congress has levelled some allegations over EVMs, then it must be probed. “The ECI has to keep the process of polling transparent and if there are any allegations, then they must be looked into and the ECI must come clean,” she said.
In 2020, the RJD, after the Assembly elections in Bihar, had raised questions on the fairness of the process regarding counting of postal ballots. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had then declared that the party might move court if the Election Commission did not satisfactorily answer queries of 20 Mahagathbandhan candidates who lost by very narrow margins.
Yadav, however, was persuaded by his father and RJD veteran Lalu Prasad not to question the fairness of the process after which the RJD quietly dropped its plan to take the matter to the court.
