The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered an investigation into allegations of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering in the Kanker Lok Sabha constituency in Chhattisgarh.
The move came in the wake of complaints lodged about possible discrepancies in the EVMs used during the recent elections.
The ECI said it had received eight complaints of EVM tampering during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Kanker constituency being one of the contested areas. The complainants wanted the EVMs’ memory and microcontroller units examined.
Bhojraj Nag of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in Kanker, defeating Congress candidate Biresh Thakur by a narrow margin of 1,884 votes. Following his defeat, Thakur raised concerns about potential election irregularities, prompting a formal complaint to the Election Commission.
Notably, the final result for this seat was delayed due to a recount on the day of vote counting, further fueling suspicions. As a result, the ECI has mandated an investigation into four booths across three assembly segments in Kanker Lok Sabha seat- Sanjari Balod, Gundardehi, and Sihawa. This includes two booths in Sanjari Balod and one each in Gundardehi and Sihawa.
This incident marks the first implementation of new ECI guidelines regarding EVM checks. The guidelines stipulate that any candidate who finishes in second place can request an EVM check within seven days of the election results, for a fee of ₹50,000.
Biresh Thakur, the Congress candidate who lost by 1,884 votes, alleged that the EVMs were swapped at four centers. He submitted a memorandum to the district collector, Nilesh Kshirsagar, demanding an investigation into the EVM numbers in Sanjari Balod, Gundardehi, and Sihawa assembly segments.
Thakur asserted that according to Supreme Court directives, any EVM suspected of tampering must be examined. Thus, he filed for the investigation of the four EVMs with differing numbers.
He also accused the former Kanker Collector, Abhijit Singh, of irregularities. He claimed that after the 16th round of counting, updates were withheld for two hours. Thakur also demanded an investigation into the Collector’s call records, alleging that external calls influenced the delay. He argued that these call records would prove his allegations of election misconduct.