Video From 2019 LS Polls Shared as EVM Tampering During 2022 UP Elections

A video of person casting their vote using an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is being shared with a claim that the 'EVM was tampered with during the first phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh', which was held on 10 February.

The claim states that the person voted for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but the vote went to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The video shows the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine, placed next to the EVM, which, too, shows BJP's party symbol.

However, we could trace the video back to 2019 making it evident that it was not connected to the ongoing elections. Further, we had debunked the same video in November 2020. Back then, it was linked to the Bihar polls.

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CLAIM

The video was shared by a Twitter user on 11 February with the claim in Hindi that reads, "पहले ही चरण की वोटिंग में खेल शुरू हो गया है...वोट डाला हाथी पे गया कमल पे...योगी जी को उत्तर प्रदेश के लगातार दुसरी बार मुख्यमंत्री बनने की एडवांस में हार्दिक बधाई एवं शुभकामनाएं."

(Translation: The game has already started in the first phase of elections. Voted for elephant, but it went to the lotus. Heartiest congratulations to Yogi Adityanath for becoming the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the second consecutive year.)

Several users have shared the video along with the similar claim on Facebook and Twitter. Some of the archived links can be viewed here, here and here.

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WHAT WE FOUND

The Quint's WebQoof team had previously debunked this video in November 2020 during the Bihar Assembly elections.

We had found a post from 2019, which was in Punjabi, and it alleged EVM manipulation.

Next, we found a slightly clearer version of the video on YouTube posted on 9 February. In the video, it can be seen that the person is placing her fingers on two party symbols (elephant and lotus) and the light beams next to BJP, and then the VVPAT machine shows the BJP symbol.

Further, the names of Chandramani Pandey, Pankaj Dubey and Vinod Kumar Rajbhar, could seen on the EVM. These candidates contested from the Basti constituency in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

In the first phase of 2022 UP polls, EVM glitches were reported from some places, Additional Chief Election Officer (ACEO) BD Ram Tiwari had told news agency PTI.

In the second phase of polling on 14 February, the Samajwadi Party had alleged that a VVPAT machine in Behat Assembly was throwing out the slip of BJP on voting for SP.

However, it is clear, that this is an old video from 2019 which is being shared falsely linked it to the UP polls.

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