Leveling serious accusations against the electoral machinery in conducting the Lok Sabha elections here, Congress candidate from Bilaspur Devendra Yadav alleged foul play in the handling of 611 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in his constituency.

He cited discrepancies in serial numbers between the mock polls and the 17C forms in support of his claim.

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Addressing the media, Yadav said the issue is not of mere winning or losing, but about why there were discrepancies in the serial numbers of the EVMs, which indicate that they were swapped.

He warned that if an explanation about the discrepancies is not provided before the counting begins, he would go for legal recourse.

Responding to the allegation, District Collector Avanish Sharan said multiple meetings had been held to address the objections but no significant problem was found.

The 17C form records details like the EVM serial numbers, the number of voters at a polling station, and the votes cast. According to Yadav, the discrepancies in the documents provided by the District Election Commission and those from polling teams point to potential manipulation.

He pointed out that 98 ballot units had differing serial numbers, and when added to other assembly segments, a total of 611 EVMs showed inconsistencies.

Yadav claimed that these irregularities were intended to favour the BJP and thereby influence the election outcome. He insisted that the District Election Commission should respond to the objections, filed on May 28, but no satisfactory reply was forthcoming from it.

District collector and election officer Avanish Kumar Sharan, in conversation with The Statesman, stated that the Congress candidate’s objections had been reviewed in several meetings. He noted that scrutiny was conducted the day after polling in the presence of election commission observers, candidates, and polling agents.

However, he said once all materials are sealed post-scrutiny, cannot be reopened till the counting day when candidates can match the records.

Responding to the development, Chhattisgarh BJP Spokesperson Amit Chimnani dismissed the allegations as baseless. He suggested that Congress and its allies were disheartened by the exit polls predicting their defeat.

Quoting the comments made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, Chimnani said the Congress leaders would blame EVMs and flee abroad after losing elections. He called Yadav’s claims childish and regrettable.