#LokSabhaElections2019 voting ended on 19th May, exactly at 6.31 PM. Exit polls of different shapes, sizes, colour and variations were splashed on all news channels and twitter was flooded with millions of tweets. NDA was given a clear majority with BJP as single largest party. Celebration started for NDA allies but the opposition parties, arm chair activists, #UrbanNaxals propaganda gang and biased and sold out section of media started attacking the election commission and churned out different theories about EVM hackings. We have heard about sour grapes story.
Now lets see and understand the Processes, People and Technology.
Election and EVM
Each booth is assigned an EVM with a unique number that is mapped to that booth. Once used, this EVM is associated with this booth and the unique EVM number list is with each candidate. A mock poll is held in the morning of the election with the BLAs. The BLAs certify the proper functioning of the EVM in this mock poll. Once all the representatives sign-off verifying the functioning of the EVM, the result of the mock poll is reset, and polling begins in the presence of BLAs and BLOs. The EVM is not connected to any network, and thus cannot be accsed externally or remotely its 100% secured.
Now about Storage
After the election is over, the EVMs are sealed with a tamper proof paper seal with a unique identification number. BLOs and BLAs sign off on this seat. All EVMs are stored in secure ‘STRONG ROOM’. This Strong Room is guarded by CAPF
Now lets come to Counting
When it’s time to total the votes for a particular booth , the EVM is brought out and it is checked that the unique EVM number corresponds with the one mapped to the booth. The EVM is brought with the seal intact, which is opened in the presence of the representatives of the various political parties.
Important Verification
To ensure the veracity of the EVM results, 5 booths will be randomly selected as per Assembly segment where Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail ( VVPAT) count will be matched with EVM count.This is the ultimate check for the authenticity of the EVM results.
When I was kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there’s no way you could be a good winner. Moral of the story : be humble in winning and gracious in deafeat. Stop blaming and finding excuses and start introspection.
(This is a compilation of tweets of @Rajput_Ramesh)
