By Express News Service

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has alleged that about 20-25 per cent of the Aam Aadmi Party's votes in Punjab may have been “transferred” to the SAD-BJP coalition due to tampering of (EVMs). Kejriwal wants the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) examined. Interestingly, he cited specific examples to support his claims.

Kejriwal's case:

Booth No. 73, Akhwana Village

In voting booth no. 73 in Akhwana village in Sujanpur Assembly constituency, seven AAP volunteers campaigned door-to-door for six months. Yet, AAP got only three votes. Where did the votes go? Didn’t even their family members (17 of them) vote for AAP?

Kejriwal's case:

Booth No. 103, Gosaipur Village

In Booth no. 103 in Gosaipur village in Sujanpur constituency, AAP had five volunteers but got only

two votes. Didn’t the 27 family members of these five volunteers vote for AAP?

What’s VVPAT?

Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) is a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballot less voting system.

Under VVPAT, a printer-like apparatus is linked to the EVM

When a vote is cast, a receipt is generated showing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate

It confirms the vote and the voter can verify the details.

The receipt, once viewed, goes inside a container linked to the EVM and can only be accessed by the election officers in rarest of rare cases

Where’s the jhadu sweep?

Kejriwal asks how the Akalis got 30% vote share when “an AAP sweep was a foregone conclusion? We suspect that 20-25% of AAP votes was transferred to SAD-BJP through EVM tampering.”

Get rid of EVMs?

Several advanced countries like the US, Netherlands and Germany have done away with EVMs as they are prone to tampering. Even the Supreme Court is of the same opinion

So what about Bihar?

Kejriwal’s counter is that the BJP may not have indulged in tampering in Bihar 2015. They are doing it selectively in some states like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

They’re after AAP

Asked why the EVM tamperers did not make the Akalis and BJP win in Punjab, Kejriwal said, “then it would have become very obvious. Their only motive was to stop the AAP.”