An Election Commission of India (ECI) official on Sunday dismissed allegations of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) hacking at the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat, emphasising that EVMs operate as stand-alone devices without any wired or wireless connectivity to external units.

Vandana Suryavanshi, the Returning Officer of 27 Mumbai North West Parliamentary Constituency, was responding to a Mumbai-based newspaper report claiming that a relative of Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Waikar carried a mobile phone inside a counting centre in Maharashtra’s Goregaon and allegedly used it to generate an OTP that unlocked the EVM.

She dispelled such reports and clarified that no OTP (One Time Password) on mobile is needed for unlocking EVMs.

“No OTP (One Time Password) can be generated on mobile for unlocking EVM as it is non-programmable and lacks wireless communication capabilities. It is a complete lie being spread by a newspaper, which some leaders are exploiting to create a false narrative,” Suryavanshi said in a press conference in Mumbai.

The Returning Officer further stated that the incident at Mumbai North West Constituency Counting Centre is about unauthorisedly using a mobile phone of an authorised person by a candidate’s aide.

“A criminal case has already been filed by the Returning Officer,” she added.

Asserting the efficacy of EVMs in conducting polls, Suryavanshi said, “EVMs are stand-alone devices without any wired or wireless connectivity with units outside the EVM system. Advanced technical features and robust administrative safeguards are in place to rule out any possibility of manipulation. Safeguards include conducting everything in the presence of candidates or their agents.”

Sharing details about counting of votes through postal ballot, the Returning Officer said, “Counting of ETPBS (Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System) happens in physical form (paper ballots) and not electronically, as is being spread through false narratives.

“Every counting sheet at every table for ETPBS and EVM counting and postal ballot counting (including ETPBS) is signed by all counting agents after due diligence,” she added.

The Returning Officer further stated that proceedings are on against the newspaper for “spreading rumours to malign Indian voters and the electoral system.”

Earlier in the day, an FIR was registered against Mangesh Pandilkar, a relative of Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Waikar, for allegedly carrying a mobile phone inside a counting centre in Maharashtra’s Goregaon.

The case has been registered at the Vanrai Police Station. An FIR has also been registered against a polling personnel, Dinesh Gurav, who was an Encore (poll portal) operator with the Election Commission.

Mumbai’s Vanrai Police has sent a notice to Mangesh Pandilkar and Dinesh Gurav under section 41A of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The mobile phone has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to recover the data and fingerprints present on it, the police said.

“We are also investigating the CCTV cameras at the Nesco Centre, which may help us to find out how the mobile phone reached inside the centre. Besides, investigating whether there are more accused involved in this case, we are also trying to find out who supplied this mobile phone,” the Vanrai Police said.

Ravindra Waikar won the Mumbai North-West constituency by a small margin of 48 votes. The constituency witnessed a close fight between both Shiv Sena factions – Eknath Shinde’s Ravindra Waikar and Uddhav Thackeray’s Amol Kirtikar.

The constituency witnessed a close fight between both Shiv Sena factions – Ravindra Waikar from Eknath Sinde’s Shiv Sena and Amol Kirtikar from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT). After the final result, Waikar was declared winner by just 48 votes.