Did Shiv Sena MP’s Relative Tamper With EVM? FIR Filed; Know What Returning Officer Is Saying

Mumbai: Mumbai Police has registered a case against the brother-in-law of Ravindra Waikar, recently-elected Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai North West, for allegedly using a mobile phone at a counting centre on June 4.

Mangesh Pandilkar allegedly used the phone to generate an OTP (one-time password) to unlock an electronic voting machine (EVM) inside the counting centre in Goregaon area.

Opposition leaders, who have been very vocal against use of EVMs and even went to Supreme Court, got a chance to take another jibe, alleging that EVM has been hacked.

Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) rejected the allegations, and found support from an election officer.

Returning Officer Vandana Suryavanshi said at a press conference here on Sunday that hacking of EVM was not possible as it is a foolproof standalone device with no provision for communication.

Clarifying that EVMs don’t require an OTP to function, came to the rescue of Shiv Sena (Ekhnath Shinde) MP Waikar’s relative.

“It is a technically foolproof standalone device. There is no provision for wireless or wired communication with it,” Suryavanshi explained, rejecting claims of using a mobile phone to unlock the device.

Slamming the fake and unverified news, Suryavanshi said: “For EVMs, there is no need for an OTP. The results are generated by pressing a button. This is a complete lie being spread by a newspaper, which some leaders are using to create a false narrative.”

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She informed that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a notice to the Mumbai-based newspaper under IPC sections for defamation and spreading fake news.

All protocols set by ECI were followed during counting of votes in Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency, with polling and counting agents being present on both days.

It was a very close fight, hence counting was done more than once.

Waikar edged out his Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) rival Amol Gajanan Kirtikar by just 48 votes.