"EVMs Decide Our Country's Future," Says Hardik Patel After BJP's Gujarat Win

Ahmedabad: Hardik Patel, the young activist deemed to be the Congress's trump card in the Gujarat election, alleged the tampering of EVMs or Electronic Voting Machines today as the BJP headed towards its fifth straight term in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. The 23-year-old Patidar campaign leader said the Congress and all opposition parties should unite against the machines, which, he said, were responsible for false results in at least a dozen seats.

"EVMs decide our country's future...If ATMs can be hacked, why can't EVMs?" Hardik Patel said, stressing that India should go back to ballot papers for voting, the way it is done in many other countries.

"If we can make changes in a calculator or human body, then EVM is also a machine."

The BJP seems set to retain Gujarat and sweep Himachal Pradesh in elections that are seen as an indicator of many more poll verdicts over the next two years until the 2019 national polls.

The BJP seems set to settle for a lower margin of victory this time. Various party leaders used the term "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (a win is a win)" when asked about the Congress giving the BJP a tough fight in Gujarat.

Hardik Patel said voting machines had been tampered with in Surat, Rajkot and Ahmedabad, where the results were close.

"I wish the BJP, who has won the election by tampering EVMs, good luck," Hardik Patel said caustically, adding, "Yet, it is true...jo jeeta wohi sikander (whoever wins wins)."

Hardik Patel's rallies were a big draw during the campaign, especially in Saurashtra, which is dominated by the Patels or Patidar community that is fighting for quota in government jobs and education. "When we were getting lot of support in the rallies during the election campaign, then why it didn't turn into more and more votes in Gujarat assembly polls?" questioned Hardik, who is too young to contest the election but who offered the Congress his organisation's full support.

This morning, Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti ruled out any tampering of the machines, saying the paper trail ensured there was no scope for  manipulating the process.

"VVPATs were there in every polling stations in Gujarat, which enabled voters to see who they voted for, so issues being raised aren't right. I assure that EVMS cannot be tampered with," said the top election officer.