INDIA: EC ORDERS REPOLL IN ASSAM’S RATABARI AFTER EVM FOUND IN BJP MLA’S CAR

Sat 03 April 2021:

The Election Commission on Friday ordered repoll at a polling station in the Ratabari Assembly seat of Assam after the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) was found in a BJP candidate’s vehicle on Thursday evening.

The EC in its order said: “The presiding officer and 3 other officials have been placed under suspension. Although the seals of the EVM were found intact, it has nevertheless been decided to do a repoll at number 149 – Indira M.V. School of LAC 1 Ratabari (SC) as added precaution. A report has also been sought from special observer.”

EVM Electronic Voting Machine.

The alarm was raised after the second phase of polling ended in Assam on Thursday, a video on social media went viral which allegedly showed EVMs in the car of the Patharkandi BJP candidate Krishnendu Paul.

Assam Congress President Ripun Bora retweeted the video and said that open loot and rigging of EVMs has to stop immediately.

Every time there is an election videos of private vehicles caught transporting EVM’s show up. Unsurprisingly they have the following things in common:

1. The vehicles usually belong to BJP candidates or their associates. ….

1/3 https://t.co/s8W9Oc0UcV

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) April 2, 2021

He also threatened that the party would boycott the election otherwise if action is not being taken.

The EC said that the incident took place on Thursday, when the EVM carrying vehicle, allotted by the election department, broke down at around 9 pm.

The election officials then decided to arrange another vehicle to reach the Material Receipt Centre. After 20 minutes, the polling party stopped a car, passing through that route, and then boarded it along with their EVM without checking the ownership of the vehicle, which belonged to the candidate Krishnendu Paul.

As reported by the polling party, they moved towards Karimganj and as they reached Kanaishil a mob of at least 50 people started pelting stones at them. The crowd also hurled abuses at them and restricted the vehicle’s movement. They also alleged that the officials took the EVM to tamper with it.”

US-based ‘cyber expert’ alleges 2014 General Elections were rigged

In 2019, a United States-based “cyber expert”, who claimed that he was part of a team that designed the electronic voting machines used in India, told a press conference in London on that the 2014 General Elections had been rigged. Scroll.in reported. He also claimed that BJP leader Gopinath Munde and journalist Gauri Lankesh had been murdered to cover up the alleged manipulation of the machines.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had won 282 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha in the elections, the first time that a single party had secured a majority since 1984.

Shuja said that he had met a “famous Indian journalist” and told him “the whole story” about EVM rigging. The “cyber expert” said that this journalist “shouts every night” during television debates. However, the journalist did not run the story. Shuja said he then approached journalist Gauri Lankesh, who agreed to write the story, but was murdered soon after.