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Fraud at Fingertips

Though the Election Commission of India and the Supreme Court rebuke the claims of rigging, electoral fraud through the manipulation of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is possible.

By Ali Hassan Bangwar | July 2024

From the BJP-led ruling government’s targeting of opposition leaders to alleged pre-poll rigging, many experts and the opposition parties have voiced concern about the ultimate outcomes of the electoral practices. One of the concerns is the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and their likely manipulation by the Modi-led BJP. The main allegation revolves around the narrative that the BJP could earn electoral dominance through malpractices involving hacking and the manipulation of the EVM. Rahul Gandhi, the Indian National Congress leader and architect of the Indian Opposition Alliance (I.N.D.I.A), believes Modi’s ascension to power is paved with manipulating EVMs.

“The soul of the king (Modi) is in the EVM,” he said during the launch of the main opposition alliance in the middle of March this year. What he implied is that Modi bases his success on the manipulation of the EVM. Moreover, critics and many opposition leaders suggested that an EVM running on a chip and disconnected from the internet could be programmed in a manner whose buttons could respond differently to what voters press.

Though the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Supreme Court rebuked the claims of rigging through the EVM, Gandhi, among the other leaders, has made the possibility of electoral fraud through the EVM’s manipulation central to their electioneering narratives. They demanded a ballot paper and the manual counting used in polling practices until the 1990s. The Supreme Court rejected this demand, and the Election Commission termed it a “regressive proposal.” Despite rejections, the demand for switching to the ballot paper continues to echo in the opposition circle.

Digvijay Singh, a Congress leader and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, heads a coalition of opposition, advocating for the reinstatement of paper ballots and consistently opposing electronic voting. Moreover, Ritu Singh, a young Dalit academic, is gaining traction on YouTube, X, and Instagram with her speeches, comments, and videos. In her content, she claims that Indian democracy is under threat due to electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Moreover, Gregory Ekka, a traditional Congress voter from New Delhi, expressed his loss of trust in the electoral process. “We all vote for the Congress, but we do not know where our vote goes. Unless there is EVM, the BJP will continue to be in power,” said Ekka, whose tribe from the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand has historically voted for the Congress.

In 2013, to enhance trust in electronic voting machines (EVMs), the Election Commission introduced the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). This system allows voters to verify their ballot on a paper slip visible for seven seconds before it’s securely stored alongside the voting machine, ensuring accurate recording of votes. In 2017, the Election Commission decided to count votes on VVPAT slips at a few polling stations in each constituency to verify the accuracy of EVM tallies. The question of transparency necessitates the repetition of the same across the country.


However, experienced election officials and impartial analysts assert that the opposition is incorrect in doubting the credibility of EVMs. Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi expressed confidence that election rigging cannot occur “through EVMs.” He advocates for counting VVPAT slips to restore trust in the Election Commission as an impartial entity overseeing elections. Quraishi emphasized that even if counting VVPAT slips takes additional time to match EVM counts, it should be prioritized.

Sanjay Kumar, a professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Society in New Delhi, noted that discrepancies between survey results and election outcomes do not necessarily indicate electoral rigging. He emphasized that he hasn’t observed significant evidence of widespread rigging in elections following the implementation of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Though the concerns voiced by the opposition about the possible hacking and manipulation of EVM in favour of the ruling BJP might hold substance, the previous electoral practices rarely substantiate the allegations. In other words, even though manipulation takes place, the opposition parties often fail to establish the same through empirical and evidence-based justification. However, transparency and fairness demand that the Election Commission of India and other stakeholders assuage the opposition’s apprehensions provide them with a level-playing field, and ensure the fairness of the elections in the truest sense. To this end, Congress and several other opposition parties’ demand for counting VVPAT at all polls would be a step in the right direction. This, among the other steps, would ensure that the voluntary public mandate reigns supreme in deciding the fates of the people of India.

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