Madhya Pradesh: Carrying 37 EVMs, Bus Named ‘Modi Rath’ Reached Shahdol 3 Days After Polling
Reportedly, it was clarified later that the EVMs were reserved machines and had not been used to record votes.
A bus carrying 37 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) reportedly reached Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, December 2, three days after polling was held in the state. This sparked fresh concerns about EVM tampering and credibility of the polling process.
Oddly enough, the bus was named ‘Modi Rath’, reported Times of India. Congress leaders protested when the EVMs arrived in the bus. In another such incident, a state transport bus carrying EVMs had reached the collection centre in Khurai 48 hours after polling had concluded. However, the Election Commission (EC) had clarified that the Khurai EVMs were not the ones used for polling but were ‘reserved’ EVMs, i.e., to be used in case an EVM being used for polling malfunctions.
Later, the EVMs in the bus that arrived in Shahdol were also reported to be reserved machines.
The chief electoral officer of Madhya Pradesh V L Kantha Rao visited the strongroom in Bhopal on Sunday to look at security arrangements. He also met Congress leaders and assured them that no EVM tampering took place in the state, reiterating the EC’s stand that EVMs cannot be tampered with. However, multiple reports of suspicious activity, in both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, has cast aspersions on this claim.
Also Read: Madhya Pradesh Elections: Congress Questions Security of EVMs in Strongrooms