Claim found false on fact check
Fact originally verified by Vishvas News: Every time elections are held in the country, many types of misleading claims start going viral on social media. The results of the assembly elections held in Maharashtra and Jharkhand are out. In this context, a video clip is going viral on social media claiming that Congress Party workers in Nagpur, Maharashtra, captured Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers carrying an electronic voting machine (EVM), with the with the help of which the results of the elections were to be determined. manipulated.
This statement has proven false in the investigation. The viral video is from Nagpur, Maharashtra, but the claim made about it is incorrect. The vehicle attacked along with the EVMs was a zone officer’s vehicle, in which the unused EVMs were kept.
As per the Election Commission guidelines, after elections all EVMs and VVPATs are divided into four categories, in which category D includes unused EVMs and VVPATs, which are reserved with the sectoral or zonal or area magistrate and They are not used in voting.
What is viral?
Social media user ‘vandanaa_bharat_ki_beti’ shared the viral video (file link) and wrote, “BIG NEWS* Khel Shuru Jhanda Chowk Nagpur BJP people carrying EVMs captured by Congress members. Even now @ECISVEEP will say that EVM is safe, seeing this we can only say that Maharashtra and Jharkhand results will be ready tomorrow. The counting process is still pending. Gupta has told you about Amit’s mind. Rajiv has already done it. If there is EVM then there is Modi. If there is Modi, then there is EVM… there is still time to keep a close eye on EVM, otherwise we will only see the Haryana result.”
Many other users on different social media platforms have shared this video with similar claims.
investigation
The license plate of the vehicle on which the EVM is seen saved in the viral video is ‘MH19BU6027’. As per the information sought on this basis, this is a number registered in Jalgaon, Maharashtra.
The vehicle seen in the keyframes of the viral video.
By searching reverse images in the key frames of the viral video, we found that this video appears in many news reports, according to which it is a case of attack on the election party in Nagpur, when some people attacked the vehicle of the election official who was carrying EVM. He did it.
The video bulletin uploaded on ABP Live’s official YouTube channel also includes Nagpur Joint Commissioner of Police Nisar Tamboli’s statement on the matter. Tamboli said: “…the EVM in his car was a spare EVM (kept in reserve without use).”
Another video report also mentions the incident in a similar context. The report by news agency ANI mentions Tamboli’s statement, in which he said: “No original EVM (used in voting) has been damaged.”
In this regard, we contacted Nagpur Deputy Collector (Election Officer) Praveen Mahire. He confirmed: “The EVM kept in the vehicle that was attacked was a reserve EVM and not the EVM used in voting.”
After this, Nagpur Kotwali police station was contacted. Police officer Atul Mohankar said, “So far, the police have arrested a total of five people in connection with the attack on this election official’s vehicle.”
of the electoral commission According to , after the elections all the available EVMs and VVPATs are divided into four categories.
Prescribed categories of EVMs.
Category A: EVM and VVPAT respondents
The first category includes those EVMs and VVPATs through which voting was done and which are switched off after voting is over.
Category B: Defective probed EVM and VVPAT
This includes those EVMs that become corrupted after some votes have been cast.
Category C: Defective and non-surveyed EVM and VVPAT
In this category are kept those machines that break down before the elections and are replaced.
Category D: EVM and VVPAT not used
The EVM and VVPAT machines that fall into this category are in the possession of the Sector or Zone or Area Magistrate, which are safe and have not been used in voting.
Such claims have gone viral in previous elections. Earlier, during the Lok Sabha elections, a similar allegation of EVM rigging in Varanasi had gone viral. The investigation then found that the EVMs in question were the EVMs used for vote counting training. During this time, Varanasi District Deputy Election Officer Ranvijay Singh was contacted. He told us, “All EVMs were classified as Category D (Unused EVMs and VVPATs) as per Election Commission guidelines, which are not used in elections and are not kept in the same strong room as EVMs used in elections. “.
The user who shared the viral post with false claims is followed by more than five hundred people on Instagram.
It should be noted that the voting was held in Maharashtra on November 20, while in Jharkhand on November 13 and 20, the results of which were known today. According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP-led Mahayuti (alliance) is expected to win a majority of more than two-thirds of the total 288 seats in Maharashtra. At the same time, in Jharkhand, the Indian coalition led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is returning to government.
Electoral Commission Chart
conclusion: The claim that BJP workers were caught with EVMs used in the elections in Nagpur, Maharashtra, is false. The vehicle attacked along with the EVMs was the zone officer’s vehicle, in which the unused EVMs were kept. The EVM and VVPAT machines that fall into this category are in the possession of the Sector or Zone or Area Magistrate, which are reserved and are not used in voting.
Claim Review: In Nagpur, Congress workers caught BJP workers carrying EVMs.
Claimed by: Insta user-vandanaa_bharat_ki_beti
Fact Check: Lie
(Disclaimer: This fact check was originally conducted by Vishvas News, republished by India TV with the help of Shakti Collective)
