Maharashtra Cong Chief Thorat Writes to CEC, Alleges EVM Tampering

Newly appointed president of the Maharashtra Congress, Balasaheb Thorat.

(Photo: Facebook/Balasaheb Thorat)

Ahead of the results of the Maharashtra and Haryana elections, Balasaheb Thorat, president of Maharashtra Congress Committee on Tuesday, 22 October wrote to the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer (CEC), voicing concerns over EVM tampering.

Thorat said in the letter that EVM tampering is a grave threat to democracy, demanding that network jammers be installed for all Assembly constituencies till the process of counting is over. He alleged that EVMs could be tampered with using various wireless networks.

The letter written by Balasaheb Thorat.(Photo: ANI)

Counting of votes for the elections, which were held on 21 October, will take place on 24 October.

“We hereby demand for immediate installation of such network jammers for all Assembly constituencies across the state without any further delay,” the letter stated.

Thorat also requested the CEC that the result sheet for each round of counting should be declared during the process, prior to opening the EVMs of the next round.

In the letter, the state Congress chief also asked that candidates should be allowed to select which EVMs would be chosen for testing against VVPAT slips, adding that 50 percent of EVMs should be physically verified.