E-Paper
Amid hacking claims, Nitish Kumar backs EVM with VVPAT for 2019 polls
Nitish Kumar said that past elections, when EVMs were not in use, saw booth capturing and bogus voting.
Refusing to join the bandwagon of the Opposition leaders demanding use of ballot paper in the parliamentary polls following claims that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were tampered with in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Wednesday backed the use of EVMs for recording votes.
Nitish Kumar supported the use of EVMs in the Lok Sabha polls, likely to be held in April-May. “My stand is very clear on electronic voting machines (EVMs). I don’t agree with people who question it. It is perfectly fine,” Nitish Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
The Bihar chief minister further said, “And when there will be VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) machines at every polling booth, there will be no problem at all.”
Nitish Kumar’s comment follows claim by Syed Shuja, a US-based person who claimed that the EVMs were tampered to influence election results in 2014 parliamentary polls. The Election Commission subsequently refuted the claim and moved the Delhi Police seeking probe into the allegations of EVM hacking.
Following the claim made by Shuja through video-conference in London, parties like the BSP and the SP demanded that the 2019 Lok Sabha elections should be held through ballot paper.
The JD(U) chief, however, expressed his disagreement with those raising doubts over the reliability of the EVMs in the conduct of free and fair elections. “I don’t agree with the things that are being said about EVMs. EVMs have strengthened people’s right to vote,” Nitish Kumar said.
He also said that reverting to ballot paper in elections would lead to irregularities in the polls. He said that before introduction of the EVMs, elections saw both bogus voting and physical capture of voting stations.
“This will not be possible now with EVMs and VVPAT machines at polling booths,” Nitish Kumar said.
