Electronic voting machines have become the default fall guys for election losers. “If you win the elections, EVMs are not tampered with. When you lose, EVMs are tampered with,” observed a bench of the Supreme Court last week on a PIL seeking a return to the old paper ballot system.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has again begun his whiny litany after the party’s disastrous debacle in the Maharashtra elections, urging Rahul Gandhi to launch a protest against the use of EVMs—barely six months after my opinion column on this very subject was published in another esteemed newspaper.
Adding to the drama, the Mumbai Police has filed an FIR for cheating under sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita and the IT Act against a certain Syed Shuja, a repeat accuser claiming from his hiding spot somewhere overseas that he can hack into India’s indigenous EVMs.
But are EVMs truly the problem? All the evidence says otherwise.
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What is an EVM?
The Election Commission of India’s website defines an EVM as a device used to electronically record and count votes cast in elections. The Indian EVM system, termed as the ECI-EVM, is specifically designed, manufactured, and used for elections in accordance with the procedures and rules framed by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
These machines are indigenously designed and produced by two public sector undertakings (PSUs)—Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) under the Ministry of Defence and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) under the Department of Atomic Energy—supervised by the Technical Experts Committee appointed by the ECI.
Unlike EVMs used in other countries, the technical specifications of the M3 model ECI-EVM and VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) state that they are non-networked, stand-alone units powered by internal batteries. With no access to the internet or connectivity features such as Bluetooth or WiFi, it is impossible to manipulate these EVMs via any network-based methods.
Every single EVM is set up as a stand-alone device, comparable to a simple calculator. There is no external power source, as it is equipped with an internal battery installed by BEL. This design ensures that modifying an EVM is practically impossible, ab initio.
A hack-proof system
The ECI has twice issued an open challenge—in 2009 and 2017— to all political parties to attend a lecture demo and also bring their expert hackers along. Parties that took up the challenge have not succeeded.
In a recent article, cyber expert and IPS officer Brijesh Singh vociferously refuted the possibility of hacking the M3 model EVM, explaining that the display unit is “purely output-only and has no input capability.” EVMs also cannot be manipulated through electromagnetic shielding, as they are designed to resist up to 6 Tesla magnetic rays, making them stronger than MRI machines.
Post-manufacturing updates are not an option, as the program is embedded in a chip that does not allow any modifications. The lack of external ports further puts paid to the ‘software update’ theory of hacking. The memory is encrypted using AES-256—an “Advanced Encryption Standard” used by the US government to secure classified data—and is physically secured in a memory compartment covered with a tamper-proof seal. Any attempt to tamper with these seals can be immediately detected. The machines are also equipped with a deadman switch that renders the EVM dead and useless if tampering is attempted.
Furthermore, the lack of remote connectivity—no WiFi, Bluetooth, etc—makes hacking EVMs virtually impossible. Besides this, the physical handling of each EVM undergoes numerous stringent security checks after manufacturing.
Syed Shuja’s malicious claims
Hiding behind political rhetoric in some undisclosed country, Syed Shuja is making wild claims about his ability to hack into India’s EVMs. Vested interests are happily amplifying this baseless rhetoric. Old videos claiming to hack EVMs by isolating their frequency are circulating on social media, resurfacing like zombies after the Congress’s debacle in the recent Maharashtra elections.
Shuja allegedly holds a PhD in Mathematics and claims to be a former employee of BEL, where he says he worked on the development of EVMs. During a sting operation by India Today, Shuja indicated that he had been granted asylum in the US due to his supposed ability to hack EVMs. However, no records are available of him attending the universities in Hyderabad that he claims as his alma mater. To date, Shuja has been unable to substantiate his claims or provide concrete evidence of his ability to tamper with India’s non-networked machines. In 2019, the last time Shuja made similar allegations, nothing was substantiated either.
You win some, you lose some
When the National Conference-Congress alliance won 48 out of 90 seats in the Jammu & Kashmir elections, and Omar Abdullah staked claim to the Chief Minister’s post, there was no talk of EVM tampering or demands to return to the primitive paper ballot. This, despite the BJP polling 25.5 per cent of the total votes compared to the NC’s 23.4 per cent. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge did not clamour for retiring EVMs back then.
The opposition also remained strangely silent on EVM tampering when Punjab voted the AAP government of Bhagwant Mann to power in 2024. In contrast, after AAP’s poor showing in the 2017 Punjab elections, its leader Arvind Kejriwal had knocked on the doors of the ECI, alleging mass EVM tampering.
There were similar wails from the Congress after the BJP won Haryana.
“Have you understood this conspiracy? Where there was 99 per cent battery in EVMs, the BJP won. Where there was less than 70 per cent battery, the Congress won. If this is not a conspiracy, then what is it?” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had claimed.
Yet, when the Hemant Soren-led JMM won in Jharkhand, the Opposition was conspicuously quiet on this subject.
Summing up this pattern, the Supreme Court in 26 November ruling remarked: “When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with. Now this time, Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with.”
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How to hack minds and hearts
My opinion piece on this very subject in the New Indian Express in June highlighted that ours is the only country in the world with 969 million registered voters—a number that far exceeds the combined voter base of the next five largest democracies in the world. To repeatedly cry wolf and cast aspersions on our tried-and-tested EVMs is not an affront to the integrity of the 1.05 crore polling staff, 30 lakh security personnel, and 55 lakh EVMs. The sheer scale of hacking or tampering that would be required to manipulate such a system is mind-boggling.
Instead of harping on this stale narrative, the Congress should concentrate on finding a way to hack into the minds of the people. This narrative of EVM hacking is as outdated as the Congress party’s connect with the electorate.
The real issue lies in Congress’ not knowing what’s on the minds of the Indian people or how to address their problems. It is not willing to do hard, honest work, or to contact and connect with people.
Simply sitting in rooms and making scapegoats of technology will not hide poor performance—which is visible and obvious to the world.
People who work on the ground, like the party workers and elected representatives from the BJP, have a pulse on what the people of this country want.
Right now, the BJP has announced a manifesto committee with the Delhi elections in view. The job of this committee is to know what is in the heart of Delhi, put it down in writing as part of the Delhi BJP manifesto, and, when elected, work toward fulfilling those promises. In other words, to complete the yatra or journey of “Sankalp Se Sidhi Tak”—resolution to accomplishment.
EVMs offer a simple and scalable model. They stand as signature technology under the banner of digital public infrastructure achievements and can be put on the same pedestal as the UPI payment system and the CoWIN platform. These innovations showcase India’s high-quality innovation and tech leadership in the Global South, where countries are using frugal means to create world-class infrastructure or products. This system can also be exported to other nations for conducting free and fair elections, alongside effective and efficient election management. A global commitment to democracy and democratic governance would be best exemplified through such cooperation.
The BJP seems to have perfected the art of hacking the hearts and minds of the Indian people. That, however, is a claim that may not stand up in court under the new BNS!
The Congress, in the meantime, should stop dancing to a thakela beat and avoid becoming a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. The EVMs were introduced to curb the very act of poll rigging and booth capturing, which was the forte of the Congress and regional parties back in those days. The wheels of the juggernaut of democracy must roll on. And like a rolling stone that gathers no moss, the EVM dispute should be left behind in the dust of corruption.
Meenakashi Lekhi is a BJP leader, lawyer, and social activist. Her X handle is @M_Lekhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Dear author, please tell the BJP all that I ask are good roads, pavements, drains, street lights, no dust pollution, good public transport, clean drinking water, 1% inflation; affordable housing, healthcare, and child care; world-class law & order police, police, judicial services; zero corruption.