Hamko maaloom hai jannat ki haqeeqat lekin,
dil ko khush rakhne ko, ‘Ghalib’ yeh khayaal achcha hai
(We all know the reality of this place called Heaven
Yet, to keep the heart feeling happy and content, the idea of Heaven is a beautiful one.)
— Mirza Ghalib
On 21 July 1993, the West Bengal unit of the Youth Congress held a protest in Kolkata, attempting to lay siege to Writers’ Building that houses the state secretariat. The protest was to demand that only those voters be allowed to vote who possessed identity cards with photos issued by the Election Commission of India. This, the Youth Congress had argued, was necessary to prevent the “scientific rigging” the Left Front government indulged in.
Police firing on the protest led to the killing of 13 people, many others were injured. Youth Congress leaders quickly surrounded their chief, giving her cover and saving her from the violence. Her name was Mamata Banerjee.
She later went on to found her own party, the Trinamool Congress, which continues to commemorate 21 July as Martyrs’ Day with a huge rally.
Also read: Those who doubt EVMs must answer these two questions
Sunday’s Martrys’ Day rally in Kolkata was also about free and fair elections. She accused the BJP of many things, including manipulation of electronic voting machines. She said, “I still believe that the results of the polls (Lok Sabha) is a mystery. We want ballot papers to be returned and not EVMs. Why are EVMs not used in countries like US, UK, France and Germany and even European countries?”
If it was really EVM manipulation that won the BJP 18 seats in West Bengal, would street fighter Mamata Banerjee limit her angst to a rally? She would have brought the rally to Delhi, run a mass agitation campaign across West Bengal, moved heaven and hell.
This is also true of every opposition party that has floated EVM conspiracy theories. If they really believed in EVM rigging, would they accept the results so easily? Mayawati regularly says the BJP has been sweeping Uttar Pradesh through EVM rigging. Arvind Kejriwal floated EVM rigging theories after losing the Punjab assembly election in 2017. The Congress party has also, at least, given lip service to the EVM conspiracy theories.
It is a very big accusation to make. If it was really true, would opposition parties be responding to it with mere press conferences and rally speeches? Nay, they’d be causing mayhem on the streets, like Mamata Banerjee did on 21 July 1993.
It is, therefore, curious why opposition leaders take to EVM conspiracy theories. Surely, it can’t be to fool the public, since it was the public who voted for the BJP. Is there anyone who can say the BJP did not make a big push for Bengal this time?
Also read: What Election Commission can do to dispel the misconception about EVMs
Top leaders of parties have various compulsions, one of which is to keep up the morale of party workers and supporters. They’re also the one most likely to believe in conspiracy theories, since they already have a partisan view of politics. If a party’s foot-soldiers lose hope, the party is over. They need to push up their enthusiasm levels for them to go around and persuade voters.
At the Sunday rally, Mamata Banerjee was telling her party workers that the Trinamool Congress didn’t lose any voters to the BJP. The people are still with us, don’t be disheartened. It’s a story that the party workers need to buy. If they don’t, they will defect to the BJP.
After Mayawati won zero seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and just 19 of 403 seats in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election, it is difficult to imagine the impact on her famed cadre. She had to say EVMs are rigged, just as her party also regularly tells voters the BJP will abolish reservations. When the truth is too inconvenient, you need a lie to feel better. It’s a placebo.
Also read: Mamata’s Martyrs’ Day rally – a show of strength & attempt to win back voters
The Aam Aadmi Party had fought the 2017 Punjab assembly election under Arvind Kejriwal’s direct supervision. It was an election the Aam Aadmi Party was likely to win. They lost the election to critical mistakes made by the party, and the buck should have stopped at Kejriwal’s door. Party workers in Punjab, Delhi and across India should have pointed fingers at Kejriwal. But before they could do so, he planted the seed of doubt in their minds. I’m an IIT engineer, he said, I know EVMs can be rigged.
This trick has been so successful that a very large number of people believe in EVM conspiracy theories. From senior politicians to anti-BJP voters, you can find many EVM doubters. Critically, everyone is doubtful, not fully sure—not sure enough to lose faith in elections. Ambiguity helps control anxiety.
Views are personal.