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The Election Commission of India (ECI) today dismissed allegations of electronic voting machine (EVM) manipulation. Addressing a press conference today to announce the dates of the Delhi Assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that EVMs have repeatedly passed the test of judicial scrutiny and have earned the trust of the nation's highest courts on 42 separate occasions.
The Delhi polls are set to be held on February 5 and the counting is scheduled for February 8.
Mr Kumar said that EVMs are tamper-proof, rendering rigging and hacking impossible. He described allegations of tampering as "baseless" and stressed that the ECI has always prioritised transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
"EVMs are not hackable. Every claim of manipulation has been thoroughly investigated and debunked. This technology has consistently upheld the principles of free and fair elections," Mr Kumar said. "On 42 different occasions, the judiciary has reaffirmed trust in EVMs. These machines represent years of technological evolution and are a matter of national pride."
Mr Kumar also addressed concerns regarding alleged manipulation of voter lists, an issue that has become a major point of contention in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections. Political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, have alleged discrepancies in voter rolls, claiming wrongful deletions and additions.
Responding to these allegations, Mr Kumar stressed that the Election Commission rigorously follows due process for any changes in voter lists.
"The preparation of electoral rolls is a transparent process involving political parties at every stage," he said. "These allegations are baseless. Disclosure is our main pillar, and detailed guidelines and datasets are available on our website."
Mr Kumar added that the ECI ensures full disclosure and provides opportunities for objections throughout the process. "All deletions and additions are done following the due process of law. There is no room for manipulation," he said.
The AAP has accused the BJP of orchestrating deletions in constituencies where it has a strong voter base. AAP leader and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had claimed in December that the BJP sought to remove over 11,000 names from the voter list in the Shahdara Assembly segment. Mr Kejriwal also alleged that a similar "Operation Lotus" was underway in his own constituency, New Delhi.
The BJP has denied these allegations, countering that AAP has been adding fake names to voter lists to inflate its support base.