A social media claim that 5,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and 12 engineers had arrived in Kanpur ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections has been declared false and misleading.
The Kanpur District Election Officer clarified that the EVM First Level Checking (FLC) began on September 17 in the presence of representatives of recognised political parties and that no new EVMs were brought from another location.
What is the claim?
Posts circulating on social media claimed that 12 engineers had arrived in Kanpur with 5,000 EVMs ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The posts suggested that the machines were being brought to Kanpur for alleged tampering and manipulation of voter data. The claim gained attention as preparations for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are underway.
However, the Kanpur election administration has rejected the claim.
What did the Kanpur DEO say?
The District Election Officer (DEO), Kanpur Nagar, described the claim as “factually incorrect and misleading” in an official post on X.
The DEO clarified that the First Level Checking of EVMs in Kanpur Nagar began on September 17, 2026, and is being conducted in the presence of representatives of recognised political parties.
सोशल मीडिया पर किए जा रहे इस दावे के संबंध में कि *उत्तर प्रदेश चुनाव से पहले 5,000 इलेक्ट्रॉनिक वोटिंग मशीनों (EVMs) के साथ 12 इंजीनियर कानपुर नगर पहुंचे हैं*, यह स्पष्ट किया जाता है कि यह दावा *तथ्यात्मक रूप से गलत और भ्रामक है*।
*कानपुर नगर में EVMs की प्रथम स्तरीय जाँच (First… https://t.co/tLmSvpoWbh— DEO Kanpur Nagar (@Deo_Kanpurnagar) September 20, 2026
The administration also made an important clarification regarding the movement of machines.
It said that no EVMs had been brought to Kanpur Nagar from any other location in connection with the ongoing First Level Checking process.
What is first level checking of EVMs?
First Level Checking, or FLC, is part of the election preparation process. It involves checking EVMs before their deployment for elections.
According to the Kanpur election administration, the schedule and arrangements for the FLC had already been publicly communicated.
The presence of representatives of recognised political parties during the checking process was also confirmed by the DEO. This means the ongoing activity in Kanpur is an election-related checking exercise and not evidence that 5,000 new machines were secretly brought into the district.
No evidence of the claimed EVM movement
The central claim being circulated was that 5,000 EVMs had arrived in Kanpur along with 12 engineers.
The official clarification directly contradicts this claim. The DEO stated that no EVMs were brought into Kanpur from another location for the ongoing FLC.
There is therefore no official evidence supporting the social media claim that the machines were brought into Kanpur for tampering or voter data manipulation.
Uttar Pradesh poll preparations underway
The clarification comes as Uttar Pradesh prepares for its next Assembly election. While the poll schedule has not yet been announced, election-related administrative preparations are already underway.
The Kanpur administration has urged people to avoid relying on unverified information circulating on social media and to follow information released through official election channels.
The District Election Officer’s clarification makes clear that the viral claim about 5,000 EVMs and 12 engineers arriving in Kanpur is false and misleading.
Verdict: False and Misleading
