Fact Check: 'EVM came in 2009 and was installed by the Congress government', know the truth of this viral post

Vishvas News found in its investigation that this claim is misleading. The Lok Sabha elections held in 2004 were also conducted with the help of EVMs. Before this, electronic voting machines have been used in many assembly elections as well. In 2001, EVMs were used on all seats in the Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal assembly elections. Even before this, EVMs have been used in a phased manner in the assembly elections of different states, which started in 1998 with the elections held on 16 assembly seats of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

What is a viral post?

Social media user 'rbsonu_sr' went viral Post (Archive AddWhile sharing it, it is written, 'EVM came in 2009 and was installed by the Congress government, if EVM could have been hacked, Congress would have been the first to do it… and would never have let BJP come to power… EVM cannot be hacked. Understand this..!!'

Investigation

To verify the claim made in the viral post regarding the use of EVMs, we checked the documents available on the Election Commission's website. During the search, we found a copy of the Status Paper on EVMs (Edition-3), which gives step-by-step information about the use of EVMs.

According to available information, after a consensus was reached on conducting elections using EVMs in 1998, it was used in elections to 16 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

After this, it was used in 46 parliamentary seats in 1999 and then during the Haryana Assembly elections, voting was done through EVMs in 45 seats.

The 2001 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal were conducted entirely using EVMs and were used in other subsequent Assembly elections as well.

2004 Lok Sabha Elections

EVMs were used for voting in all 543 seats during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. According to this document made public in 2018, 'EVMs have been used during voting in a total of 113 state assembly elections and three general elections (2004, 2009 and 2014) in India since the year 2000.'

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections were also conducted completely through EVMs. Therefore, the claim made in the viral post that the use of EVMs started in 2009 is false.

On 19 May 1982, the Election Commission of India issued guidelines under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution to use EVMs on a trial basis in 50 polling stations of 70-Parur Assembly Constituency in Kerala. Subsequently, EVMs were also used in 10 by-elections in 1982-83. However, due to the absence of any specific law, these elections were challenged in the Supreme Court (Election Petition 01/1982 filed by A.C. Jose) and on 5 March 1984, the Supreme Court in its judgment said that EVMs cannot be used in elections without any specific legal provision.

Subsequently, in December 1988, Parliament amended the law to add Section 61A to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, thus allowing the Election Commission to use EVMs. The amendment came into force on 15 March 1989 and was followed by the Supreme Court declaring Section 61A as constitutionally valid in the case of AIADMK vs Chief Election Commissioner and others (2002 UJ (1) 387).

Details of legal interventions and litigation related to EVMs can be seen in the following chart.

When Vishwas News contacted the spokesperson of the Central Election Commission regarding the viral post, he confirmed that in the 2004 general elections, voting was done through EVMs in all the Lok Sabha seats and before that EVMs were also used in other assembly elections.

The Supreme Court has rejected the petition filed in 2018 demanding that elections be conducted using ballot papers instead of EVMs.

Published in Economic Times on 22 November 2018 news The Supreme Court has rejected the petition demanding the use of ballot paper instead of EVMs in the upcoming assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections. The court said that no system is perfect. This PIL was filed in the court by A Subba Rao on behalf of NGO Nyaya Bhoomi. He had said that EVMs can be misused, so it should not be used during elections.

After this order of the Supreme Court, the 2019 general elections were conducted through EVMs only. See the fact check report of other viral claims related to EVMs here Reading May go.

those who shared the viral post the user About five thousand people follow him on Instagram. Election Commission notification (archive) AddAccording to news agency ANI, four phases of voting have been completed so far under the Lok Sabha elections and the fifth phase is scheduled to be held on May 20, in which voting will take place for a total of 49 seats in eight states and union territories.

conclusion

Vishvas News' investigation has found the claim of EVMs coming into existence since 2009 to be false. In 2004, elections were conducted on all 543 Lok Sabha seats of the country with the help of EVMs and before that it was being used in many assembly elections. In 2001, EVMs were used on all seats in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal assembly elections. Even before this, EVMs were being used in a phased manner in the assembly elections of different states, which started in 1998 with elections on 16 assembly seats of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. The general elections of 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 were also conducted with EVMs and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are also being conducted with EVMs.

(This story was originally published in 1998) Vishvas NewsAnd republished by NBT as part of Shakti Collective.)