Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Whistleblower demands Rs 52 crore to tamper with EVM for MP

Just days before the Maharashtra elections, reports of EVM tampering have yet again marred the integrity of election process with a self proclaimed cyber expert claiming that EVMs have been hacked multiple times, notably even in the 2014 elections where Modi-led BJP witnessed an overwhelming victory.

With Maharashtra going to polls on November 20, the state is bustling with campaigns and slogans as parties have been putting their best foot forward ensuring no stones are unturned on their way to favourable results.

However, just days before the elections, reports of EVM tampering have yet again marred the integrity of election process with a self proclaimed cyber expert claiming that EVMs have been hacked multiple times, notably even in the 2014 elections where Modi-led BJP witnessed an overwhelming victory.

As per a report in India Today, Syed Shuja has claimed that he can use technology from US Department of Defence (where was employed as a contractor) to help an alliance win the elections.

In conversation with the publication's reporter posing as the PA of an MP in the state, the cyber expert revealed that he had access to 281 out of 288 seats. He even agreed to tamper the EVMs in 63 seats if provided with VVPAT details.

On being asked how will he be able to work with the VVPAT details, he told: "I will pre-programme it and if it is preprogrammed in BJP's favour, I will flip it on the day of the election when the transmission begins. I will intercept it and send a file from my side (to the Election Commission) and they will think it is their file."

Shuja even claimed that even when the EVMs are not on, the transmission will continue.

"When the machine is opened, a new file comes and then the transmission will be counted. It is easy for them. I have to be cautious for the next three days and scan every hour if the transmission is happening or not," he told India Today.

With a PhD minor in Mathematics, Shuja demanded $6 million (approximately Rs 52-53 crore) for his services.

This is not the first time Shuja is making headlines over EVM hacking. In 2019, the Delhi Police had registered a case based on a complaint filed by the Election Commission regarding allegations of hacking of EVMs and rigging of polls levelled by Shuja.

Addressing a press conference in London via Skype, Shuja had said that he fled India in 2014 because he felt threatened in the country after the killing of some of his team members.

The cyber expert also claimed that BJP leader Gopinath Munde was "killed" because he was aware of EVM hacking in the elections.

Claims of EVM tampering had echoed in Maharashtra even during the Lok Sabha elections when it was alleged that that winning Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Waikar’s relative was seen with a mobile phone at the counting centre which was used to generate one-time password (OTP) to unlock an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) - a charge which dismissed by the Returning Officer.

It is noteworthy that the Election Commission on last month 'categorically rejected' allegations of irregularities in Haryana elections raised by the Congress, asking it to conduct responsibly at sensitive electoral stages to “avoid possibilities of precipitation of public unrest and chaos”.

The poll body said the Congress has once again raised the “smoke of a generic doubt” about the credibility of the entire electoral outcome like it did on earlier occasions like during 2023 Karnataka elections and 2024 Lok Sabha polls. This is least expected of a national party, it had said.

This came after Congress had submitted four petitions to the EC after Haryana elections about the “glaring discrepancy” in some Electronic Voting Machines and their batteries that it claimed could have impacted results in 26 constituencies.

CEC Rajiv Kumar rejected claims by Congress leaders of alleged tampering of EVMs in some Haryana seats where machines with varying battery strength gave out different results.

Referring to the issue over battery strength affecting results, the CEC said earlier allegations of hacking were made "but this has come up for the first time".

"Now we are thinking what next will come, we can't fathom. But certainly something new will come up," Kumar had said.

(With DHNS, PTI inputs)

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to never miss out on anything.