Misgivings about the electronic voting machines are growing within the Opposition bloc INDIA as it gears for a complex seat-sharing exercise and a stiff political struggle against Narendra Modi’s dominance.

While Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh has long been alleging that the EVMs can be manipulated and demanding corrective measures, the technocrat Sam Pitroda’s tirade against the machines has deepened Opposition leaders’ suspicions.

The last Opposition meeting took note of the concerns and resolved to petition the Election Commission for adequate safeguards.

Digvijaya, who recently attended a meeting called by Congress leader Udit Raj on EVMs, has been posting more messages and videos on EVM hacking than about actual politics in the past few weeks.

He posted this on X a few days ago: “INDIA partners have been requesting the Election Commission of India for a meeting since August but they don’t have time to meet the opposition parties. Will the Chief Justice of India pay heed to this?”

Digvijaya added: “The Election Commission always says the Supreme Court has given its verdict on EVMs. Should the recognised political parties stop seeking answers to their legitimate concerns from the Election Commission? Is this justice, the Chief Justice of India?”

A large number of Congress leaders nurture doubts about the EVMs and some have even suggested a boycott of elections to precipitate a crisis.

“Rahul Gandhi is a leader who won’t raise an issue without clinching evidence. But the Congress has formally passed a resolution demanding a return to paper ballots,” a senior Congress politician told The Telegraph.

“The Election Commission won’t pay any heed without a mass movement. Stray statements and seminars won’t help. We have to mobilise lakhs of people and sit outside the Election Commission.”

Udit Raj, chairman of the party’s unorganised workers’ cell, has been trying to build up a movement against the use of EVMs but hasn’t received any institutional support from the party.

“We have so far held four meetings. Both political workers and civil society
activists believe that the EVMs are being manipulated,” Raj, a former bureaucrat, told this newspaper.

“In a democracy, the Election Commission is duty-bound to go by the majority opinion. Even the BJP had fought a valiant battle against the EVMs before 2014.”

Raj underlined that most of the developed nations do not hold elections via EVMs.

“There have been instances when candidates didn’t receive even their own or their family’s vote. In many cases, EVMs have been found to be 90 per cent charged while counting, which is not possible because the battery is consumed during voting,” he said.

“Six lakh EVMs have been found defective and 19 lakh EVMs are missing. There are no credible answers to these concerns.”

Asked if he had received any support from his party in his campaign against alleged EVM manipulation, he said: “So far not, but Sam Pitroda, who is a technical expert, has talked to Rahul Gandhi. I hope the party reviews its position now.”

Pitroda has been persistently arguing that the EVMs can be manipulated easily after the introduction of the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines, which allow voters to verify if their vote has been registered in the name of the correct candidate.

“The EVMs are no more a standalone machine. The SLU (symbol loading unit) connected to the VVPAT to identify candidates are programmed after the finalisation of candidates, and that opens a Pandora’s box,” Pitroda said.

In his latest video message, Pitroda said: “I have spent four-five years trying to understand the complex processes. Many people tell me they can hack EVMs; some say they are doing it for a price. Some time ago, around 250 people formed (the) Citizens Commission on Elections, which is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur and includes retired IAS officers, professors, technocrats and global experts. Their report should be read. Forget about political parties. No citizen would like his vote being manipulated.”

The Congress had quickly distanced itself from Pitroda’s statement that Narendra Modi can well return with 400 seats, as the BJP claims he will, if elections are held using EVMs. But the technocrat remains the head of the Indian Overseas Congress and is very close to Rahul. The party hasn’t told off Digvjaya, either. Some believe the Congress is slowly allowing a case to be built against the EVMs without getting directly involved.