BJP using bluetooth tech to hack EVMs: Cong leader

As Madhya Pradesh voted overwhelmingly in the Assembly elections on Wednesday, the Congress accused the BJP of hacking electronic voting machines using bluetooth technology.

The Congress' minder for Madhya Pradesh Dipak Babariya claimed that the BJP was rigging electronic voting machines at several polling booths by affixing a bluetooth device to the polling terminals.

The Election Commission has repeatedly denied that the EVMs it deploys for recording votes can be tampered, and had challenged political parties to prove their charge at a hackathon last year.

More than 75% of the five crore voters exercised their franchise in the Madhya Pradesh elections, where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is seeking a record fourth term in office against a formidable challenge put up by the Congress led by Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia.

However, Babariya, the AICC General Secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, claimed that despite the BJP's machinations, the Congress would emerge victorious in Madhya Pradesh by winning more than 130 seats in the Assembly of 230.

He also flagged the issue of 40 lakh bogus voters in the state. He claimed that each of the 230 Assembly seats have anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 bogus voters.

Babariya said the tampering of EVM could be checked at the polling booth level itself by a "dedicated team of polling agents, who diligently observe the election process and flag discrepancies with the polling officer."

He said though the Congress had made efforts to strengthen the organisation in the state, it lacked a network of party workers in rural areas who could keep an alert eye on the poll process.

Earlier in the day, Congress leaders had flagged issues of EVM malfunctioning across polling stations in the state, particularly in rural areas.

“I request the Election Commission to immediately take cognisance of the issue and ensure uninterrupted and fair polling across the state,” senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said.