The Election Commission (EC) today confirmed that a mobile phone belonging to an "authorised person" was "unauthorisedly" used by the aide of a candidate during the vote-counting process in the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency. This constituency saw the victory of Shiv Sena's Ravindra Waikar.
In a statement, the EC clarified that the returning officer has already filed a police case regarding the incident. Allegations surfaced that the mobile phone was capable of receiving a one-time password (OTP) for unlocking an electronic voting machine (EVM). The EC refuted these claims, emphasizing that EVMs are non-programmable and lack wireless communication capabilities.
"There is no OTP on mobile phone for unlocking EVM as it is non-programmable and it has no wireless communication capabilities. It is a complete lie being spread by a newspaper, which is being used by some leaders to create a false narrative," the EC stated in their press note. The commission also issued a notice to Mid-Day newspaper for allegedly "spreading disinformation about the EVM and creating doubts in the Indian electoral system."
The EC reiterated that EVMs are standalone devices without any external connectivity and all procedures are conducted in the presence of candidates or their agents. They also clarified that the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) is counted in a physical form (paper ballot), not electronically, countering false narratives.
Following the EC's statement, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi took to X to express her concerns. "Madam Returning Officer is implicating the election office further rather than bring transparency. Many more questions arise from Vandana Suryawanshi jis conference rather than get answers regarding the process for Mumbai North West election result," she posted.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan also questioned the incident in a video statement. "After the June 4 incident, the FIR (first information report) was filed only on June 14. Many questions remain unanswered. First, who allowed a mobile phone to be brought to the counting centre, and what was it being used for? Second, from where did this OTP matter come from? What is it about..." Chavan said.
The issue gained global attention when Tesla chief Elon Musk discussed the possibility of switching to paper ballots due to concerns over EVM hacking on his microblogging platform X. In response, former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar defended the use of EVMs as secure, criticizing Musk for doubting their reliability. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and alliance partner Akhilesh Yadav also joined the debate, advocating for a return to paper ballots.