EVM Controversy: Allegations of EVM tampering; Anger of the 'Remove EVM sena' due to postponement of vote counting

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After the sudden announcement of December 21 as the date for counting votes in the municipal council elections in Maharashtra, the political atmosphere has heated up. The Remove EVM Army has expressed strong displeasure over the decision to delay vote counting and has raised serious questions about EVM security.

The results of some municipal council elections held on December 2 were to be announced on December 3. However, as per the order of the Nagpur bench, the Election Commission has now announced the decision to conduct the counting of votes for all municipal councils on December 21. Earlier, orders had also been given to postpone some elections and hold voting on December 20.

Due to this changed schedule, the EVM machines used for voting will have to be kept in storage for as many as 18 to 20 days. Amit Upadhyay, an office bearer of the EVM Removal Sena, has strongly objected to this. He stated that storing the machines for so many days after voting without sealing them or without direct public supervision is a serious matter.

Upadhyay said, “Since EVM machines are kept in the warehouse for a long time, the possibility of tampering cannot be ruled out. The decision to postpone counting is detrimental to transparency. The commission should give a clear explanation for this.”

Various political parties have also raised questions about the reasons behind postponing the counting, and these developments are being seen as likely to further increase the political tension in local self-government elections.