Mudda speakers divided; while some feel motherboard-tinkering to rig elections impossible, others say older process a safer bet; but should conspiracy theories form the basis of a costly changeover by the state?
The Election Commission has held several meetings on how to improve the polling experience in the country. Among other things, use of EVMs, paper ballots and domestic migrant voting have been discussed. APN’s popular debate show, Mudda, took up the issue on Monday. Anchorperson Akshay Singh Gaur spoke to BJP’s Rajesh Jha, Congress’ Umashanker Pandey, RJD’s Balwant Kumar, former IAS officer Baba Hardev Singh and APN consultant Govind Pant Raju.
“It’s important to go in for reforms in the election process so that polls are conducted in a truly fair and non-partisan manner,” Hardev Singh said.
Pandey opined ballot paper voting seemed a better solution. “EVMs have inherent problems. In 2017, the EC conducted a show to prove that EVMs are tamper-proof, but could not convince the Congress.”
The BJP is all for simultaneous polls, as it would bypass all problems associated with multiple elections, like extra expenditure, more chances of rigging and disturbance to students, Jha said.
Balwant Kumar said:”RJD is against EVMs, as these are vulnerable to fraud. The Netherlands has gone back to paper ballot and in the US too, it is being used more and more.”
Akshay then asked if paper ballots don’t lead to booth capturing.
Raju said: “The EC had thrown an open challenge to all parties to prove that there has been EVM hacking. Why didn’t the parties go ahead and do so? We have already been witness to booth-capturing in the past. I don’t think that ballot papers are the way out. Whatever the issues are with EVMs, we can resolve them.”
Pandey said:”When ballot paper voting was used in the past, paramilitary forces were not deployed. In today’s scenario, there are enough paramilitary forces that can be put on duty. CCTV cameras can also be installed at polling stations.”
Hardev Singh said: “We have to ensure free and fair polls. EVM hacking is not easy. There might be a small margin for technical glitches. These are just rumours spread by parties to apply pressure and misguide people.”
“We have reason to believe that EVMs are not tamper-proof. They can be programmed to orchestrate desired results,” Pandey said.
Balwant Kumar said: “Software experts can easily tamper with the motherboard. With enhanced security and CCTV cameras, I am sure ballot paper voting will prove to be the right option.”
Raju then said that motherboard-tinkering was not an easy thing to do. “But political parties only look after their own interests when making such insinuations,” he added.
Hardev Singh said:”The local administration has to be on alert to prevent malpractices. But usually, by the time the local administration swings into action, the deed is already done.”
Balwant Kumar said: “In modern times, there are many ways parties influence voters. Fake news on social media and paid news are just two of them. So various factors come in the way of conducting a free and fair election.”
—Compiled by Niti Singh Bhandari