Can EVMs Be Hacked Like Hezbollah Pagers? CEC Rajiv Kumar Answers

New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday responded on EVM hacking allegations raised by the Congress and other parties after Haryana Assembly election results. The poll body chief Rajiv Kumar, who announced polling dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections, during the presser said that EVMs cannot be hacked because they are not connected with any system.

Responding to doubts over EVMs and whether they can be compromised, Rajiv Kumar once again reiterated that EVMs are not connected with any network so they cannot be hacked.

CEC Rajiv Kumar mentioned that someone raised a question asking “if pagers can be detonated then why can’t EVMs be hacked”. Responding to this charge, he said that pagers are connected but EVMs not. (Arre bhai pager connected hota hai and EVM nahi.)” 

Last month, pagers (old generation instant message device) being used by Lebanon's terrorist group Hezbollah members were hacked and  detonated on a mass level. Hezbollah accused that Israel's intelligence agency Mossad had hacked the systems. 

CEC Rajiv Kumar on exit polls prediction

On Haryana Exit Polls, which were proved entirely wrong, CEC Rajiv Kumar said, “A major distortion is being created due to Exit Polls and expectations set by it. This is a matter of deliberation and introspection for the Press, especially for electronic media. In the last few elections, 2-3 things are happening simultaneously if we look at the entire canvas together... First, an Exit Poll comes - we don't govern it... But there is a need for self-introspection, that what was the sample size, where was the survey done, how did the result come and what is my responsibility if I did not match to that result, are there disclosures - all of these need to be seen.”

“There are bodies which govern this... I am sure the time has come that Associations/Bodies which govern, will do some self-regulation... Counting happens roughly on the third day after the elections end. Expectations rise from 6 pm... but there is no scientific base to this in public disclosure. When counting begins, results start pouring at 8.05-8.10 am. This is nonsense. The first counting (of EVMs) begins at 8.30 am... Are the initial trends to justify the Exit Poll?...We start putting the results at 9.30 am on the website... So, when the actual results start coming in, there is a mismatch. That mismatch can lead to serious issues sometimes. The gap between expectations and achievements is nothing but frustration. So, this issue is such that needs some deliberation...”

There is a huge distortion due to exit polls and there is a need for self-introspection by pollsters, CEC Rajiv Kumar said.

Maharashtra , Jharkhand elections announced

The Election Commission Tuesday announced Maharashtra will vote in one phase on November 20, while Jharkhand will go to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20, setting the stage for another round of contest between a buoyant BJP and the opposition INDIA bloc, which has been jolted by the Congress ' shock Haryana defeat.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced at a press conference here that the counting of votes will be held on November 23, a day before the current Maharashtra assembly completes its term.

Flanked by Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and S S Sandhu, Kumar also said the bypolls to 47 assembly seats and Wayanad Lok Sabha seats will be held on November 13.

The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi , who has also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept.

The Congress on Tuesday announced Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the bypoll from the Wayanad parliamentary seat.

Bypolls for the Kedarnath assembly seat and Nanded Lok Sabha seat will be held on November 20.

Bypolls are also scheduled to be held for the Basirhat parliamentary seat in West Bengal and Milkipur assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh, but were not announced as election petitions have been filed for both the seats.

The elections will be held in two phases in 81-strong assembly in Jharkhand this time around as against five in 2019.

The CEC said it was not possible to conduct the assembly elections in Jharkhand in a single phase due to security reasons, but it is noteworthy that the number of phases has been brought down from five in 2019 to two this year.

In a bid to address the issue of urban apathy, the Election Commission has decided to hold voting on Wednesday, with an aim to discourage voters from going on vacations if the exercise is clubbed with weekends.

With inputs from PTI