New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal urged the Election Commission on Sunday to clarify the concerns raised by the Congress Party regarding electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in the recently concluded Haryana Assembly elections.
Sibal expressed his belief that misuse of EVMs can occur during elections. “The questions that the Congress has raised about EVMs are being supported with proof provided to the Election Commission. While I don’t know all the details, the EC must offer clarification. I think misuse of EVMs does happen; to what extent it happens, I cannot say,” he stated.
The Congress Party submitted multiple complaints to the Election Commission on Friday, alleging discrepancies in EVMs during the vote counting process. Candidates from 20 assembly constituencies claimed that during the October 8 counting, some EVMs showed battery charges at 99 percent, while most were below 80 percent—a discrepancy they found suspicious.
These allegations follow the Congress’s unexpected defeat in the assembly elections, where the party failed to secure a simple majority after ten years of BJP governance in Haryana.
Former Congress leader and Independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal emphasized the need for transparency. “From the beginning, I have been against this. I have made many statements in the past. What is opaque must not be accepted,” he added.
Jairam Ramesh, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary for Communications, highlighted the issue on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Friday. “In furtherance of the issues raised and the representation submitted to the Election Commission of India on 9th October, we have now submitted an updated memo highlighting serious and glaring irregularities in the election process in 20 assembly constituencies in Haryana. We hope that the Election Commission will take notice and issue the appropriate directives,” he wrote.
The Congress has formally requested the Election Commission to seal all EVMs from the affected constituencies and initiate a detailed, time-bound inquiry. “We request you to urgently take action on the enclosed complaints and ensure that all the EVMs from these constituencies are immediately sealed,” the party’s memorandum stated.
Some Congress candidates alleged that the unusual battery percentages raised serious doubts about the election results. “It is to be noted that EVM battery percentage raises serious doubt regarding election results, as the Congress candidates are winning in most EVM machines counting where battery percentage was below 80 percent,” one candidate claimed.
Senior Congress leaders met with Election Commission officials last Wednesday, submitting seven written complaints and indicating that more detailed grievances from additional candidates would follow.
In their memorandum, the Congress pointed out, “One of the issues faced by a significant number of our candidates was in relation to EVMs and their battery capacity.”
