'EC Can Shut Mouths Once And For All'

'If machines (EVMs) are so reliable, if our electoral system is so reliable, then why has the Election Commission so far not even responded to an ADR plea to share data of 79 (Lok Sabha) constituencies where there's a (alleged) dispute?'

"Mahayuti has won 236 because of systematic and different kinds of EVM management and manipulation," insists former Congress Rajya Sabha MP and journalist Kumar Ketkar in the concluding segment of a two-part interview with Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com.

• PART I: 'Modi Was Not A Factor In Maharashtra'

Talking about EVM tampering which many leaders from the Maha Vikas Agadi have been alleging, if EVM tampering was so easy, wouldn't Narendra Modi have gone 400 paar in the Lok Sabha election?

EVM tampering may not be easy, but EVM tampering is a fact. EVM tampering is often mistaken for the EVM machine using some kind of software which will convert 'A vote' to 'B vote'.

EVM tampering has multiple forms. For instance, a particular machine in which votes are cast, that machine is quietly replaced.

Let's for argument's sake assume that the BJP is doing wholesale EVM tampering... If that were the case, why didn't they do it in the Lok Sabha election?

I never said they are doing wholesale (tampering).

The question arises why didn't they do it during the Lok Sabha election and help Narendra Modi hit 400 paar?

They will not do it because they don't want to do it wholesale. They are very clever manipulators. They will say we have 544 constituencies in the Lok Sabha election; they never wanted to win 400 Lok Sabha seats.

Their logic was: Out of the 400 at least 200 will come to us (the BJP) automatically because we have that much electoral following. What we need to do is additional seats that we want.'

Now where they went wrong was in their first assessment of 200 seats. They were pretty sure of winning 200 seats on their own. They must have decided to manipulate accordingly perhaps -- and this is hypothetical -- maximum 75 to 80 seats and because they were confident of winning 200 seats on their own, this would have easily taken them above the simple majority mark of 272.

400 was basically a propaganda machine. They never wanted to cross 400; privately they said it was just a campaign point to give them confidence and enthuse BJP voters.

The point is you don't have to actually hack the machine by using software. There are so many ways of hacking the machine. Sometimes replace the machines, sometimes just press the buttons. Sometimes add votes after 6 pm (when the elections are closed and counting units of the EVMs are sealed).

Tell me this simple thing: If machines (EVMs) are so reliable, if our electoral system is so reliable, then why has the Election Commission so far not even responded to an ADR (Association of Democratic Rights) plea to share data of 79 (Lok Sabha) constituencies where there's a (alleged) dispute?

The Election Commission can once and for all shut the mouths of all those casting allegations over how EVMs can be manipulated, by sharing data transparently about these 79 constituencies.

This will not require much time. It is just pressing some buttons. We are living in an era of so-called Digital India. But why are they refusing that?

If the Election Commission does this it can earn the trust of the people. But so far they have not even responded.

I think these are the anomalies. I am not saying that these anomalies decide the total voting pattern. I am not even saying that this is the only way Mahayuti has won. But Mahayuti has won 236 because of systematic and different kinds of EVM management and manipulation.

None of the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi has won even one-tenth of the 288 assembly seats. So, there will be no leader of the Opposition and with the MVA not even crossing 50 seats there may hardly be any opposition to the next Mahayuti government. Under this situation how is the Mahayuti government likely to treat the Opposition?

They (the Opposition) will just be bulldozed by the majority (Mahayuti government with over 236 MLAs in a 288-member House). They will do it and they will be very aggressive.

They (the Mahayuti) will just do what they want. Let the Opposition walk out, demonstrate, protest, bring banners inside, create problems, shout at all that they are allowed to... in the so-called democratic freedom all they will be allowed to do is shout and protest.

I was in the Rajya Sabha for six years (between 2018 and 2024) and I have seen how they (the Narendra Modi government) bulldoze (the Opposition).

The moment we walked out in protest they would pass several bills immediately; or they would just throw us out, suspend us, adjourn the House and pass the bills. I have seen that kind of a brutal approach to passing the bills.

Will we see the same scenes in the Maharashtra assembly that we saw in the Lok Sabha between 2019 and 2024?

Actually between 2014 (when Modi first became India's prime minister) and 2024, but certainly often after 2019 (when Modi had a bigger majority than in 2014).

What can the MVA constituents now do to get their fight against alleged EVM tampering heard by the Election Commission?

They must go to the Election Commission, take out a morcha, gherao the Election Commission and put pressure on them to release the data.

What kind of legislation do you think the Maharashtra assembly will pass in the next five years?

What kind of is difficult to say but half a dozen (legislation) will be Hindutva-oriented. They might pass a Universal Civil Code-like law. Some resolutions on madarsas will take place. But these are relatively smaller issues; the main issues of communalism will be handled by Delhi.