No Clarity Yet on EVM Row in DUSU Polls

Electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections might have been procured and serviced by the same company that supplies these to the Election Commission of India (ECI), even as the ECI has distanced itself from the ongoing controversy. 

“You are aware that for the last few years, DUSU as well as the college elections are being conducted through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). This year too, despite the reduced number of available EVMs, elections will be conducted through EVMs. To make effective and flawless use of EVMs on the election day, some persons are trained as the Master Trainers. These Master Trainers along with few officials from Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) ensure the smooth functioning of EVMs,” reads a letter issued by Professor VK Kaul, chief election officer, DUSU, on September 10.

The letter, which confirms that the EVMs were procured from ECIL and its trainers were called in for training, is addressed to the principal/head/dean and election officer of the varsity-affiliated colleges, urging them to depute two persons each (from amongst teachers and/or administrative staff) to be trained as master trainers – who, in addition to the university officials, were responsible for the smooth functioning of EVMs on election day.

ECIL, a government undertaking, also supplies EVMs to the ECI.

In the recently held DUSU polls, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won three  top posts – president, vice president and joint secretary, while the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) managed to grab the secretary’s post.

During the counting of votes that took place on September 14, many instances of EVM glitches came to light. In one shocking instance, it was noted that votes were being transferred to non-existent candidates: on a post with only eight candidates with NOTA (none of the above) as ballot number 9, about 40 votes were being shown on ballot number 10. Moreover, the NSUI candidates were getting zero votes.

Newsclick could not get through to contacting DU officials as repeated calls to Kaul and DUSU poll committee member Pinki Sharma went unanswered.

ECI Maintains Distance

Meanwhile, the ECI has distanced itself from the controversy by issuing a statement that the EVMs used in the DUSU elections were not supplied by the ECI.

In a letter written to ECI, Additional Director General Shefali, by the Election Officer (EVM) Manoj Kumar on September 13, it has been stated, “...the EVMs in question (those used in DUSU elections) is not of Election Commission as no such EVMs have been allotted/issued to the Delhi University by this office (office of the chief electoral officer). It was also confirmed from the State Election Commission that no such machines have been given by them too.” 

“It seems”, the letter clarifies, “that the Delhi University has procured these machines privately”.

NSUI Allegations

The NSUI, which had a neck-and-neck contest with ABVP, demanded that the election be held again with paper ballot. “The NSUI was leading on both posts of president and secretary with a huge margin after six rounds when EVMs fortuitously started malfunctioning. When the issue of discrepancies were raised, the counting was suspended and the EC announced that counting will be done at a later date.

The EC even made the absurd suggestion that votes on malfunctioning machines will be divided between the NSUI and the ABVP. Moreover, the EC refused to give EVM-wise counting of votes, giving instead only total votes polled for each candidate. “We highlighted that data for seven EVMs remained unaccounted for,” the students’ group National Media Coordinator Laraib Neyazi told Newsclick.

Neyazi said the NSUI has in the last two years twice demanded reforms in the election process, including the use of EVMs “equipped with VVPAT and EVM-wise votes polled”.  “However, these demands have been rejected by by the DU EC every year, which has “undermined the integrity of the entire election process”, he said.

He further added that the reported glitch in EVMs “procured by the ECIL has raised serious concerns about integrity of elections conducted on EVMs by the ECI”.

“We are confident that the NSUI will emerge victorious on all four seats in a free and fair election,” Neyazi claimed.

Asked why the NSUI even failed to retain the seats it had won in the last election, he said, “We had won top two seats last year after four years. We got the highest vote share in six years.”

ABVP’s Ankit Baisoya, Shakti Singh and Jyoti Chaudhary were elected as the president, vice-president and joint secretary respectively. Aakash Choudhary of the NSUI was elected as the DUSU secretary.

Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), student organisation of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), that fought in alliance with CPI (ML)-backed All India Students’ Association (AISA) was third in all the posts.

Bharat Khatana, ABVP’s Delhi state secretary, was quick to predict the results of upcoming general elections based on the DUSU polls. “We have registered an impressive victory in the DUSU elections. This result will impact the next year’s Lok Sabha elections as the DU Students Union polls reflect mood of the nation,” he exulted.

Asked about the malfunctioning of the EVMs, he said that happened with two machines that alloted votes to non-existent candidates. “But that was rectified. Questioning the machines is nothing new, the Congress and its NSUI keep doing it when they lose elections. It is their frustration to hide their failure,” he told Newsclick.

The polls this year recorded a 44.5% turnout, a record high in 12 years. A total of 58,000 votes votes were cast for each post, which is over 4,000 higher as compared to the last year. NOTA was the lowest this year at only 10.7% of the total votes. In 2016, it was recorded at 12.6%, which increased to 16.5% last year.