Election Commission Refutes RJD's Claim of 25,000 Pre-Loaded Votes in Bihar EVMs as "Technically Impossible"

RJD secured only 25 seats out of the 143 they contested in the election.

Patna:

The Election Commission firmly rejected RJD senior leader Jagdanand Singh's allegation on Tuesday that each Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) used in the Bihar elections contained 25,000 pre-loaded votes before polling began, describing the claim as "technically impossible" and "procedurally false".

In an official statement, the EC emphasized that the allegation of "25,000 pre-loaded votes" in every EVM is not only technically impossible but also contradicted by statutory records that were signed by RJD's own election and polling agents.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which won merely 25 out of the 143 seats it contested in the assembly elections, claimed on Monday that the electoral outcome did not accurately reflect the people's will. The party suggested it might take legal action, citing "irregularities in the EVMs".

"Each EVM had 25,000 votes even before polling commenced... and we still managed to win 25 seats," Singh stated following a meeting of party leaders at Tejashwi Yadav's official residence.

Singh previously served as the head of RJD's Bihar unit.

The EC's statement clarified: "EVMs have no WiFi, Bluetooth, internet, or any external connectivity, making remote or digital tampering impossible. Before polling begins, each EVM displays '0' votes for every candidate, and a mandatory mock poll is conducted with all political party agents present. Afterward, all mock votes are cleared, and a mock poll certificate is jointly signed."

The Commission further explained that EVMs undergo two distinct randomization processes—first at the district level for allocation to assembly segments, and second at the constituency level for assignment to specific polling stations—all conducted in the presence of representatives from all political parties, ensuring no one can predict which EVM will be deployed at which booth.

Political party agents remain present during various crucial stages: EVM randomization, sealing, dispatch, polling, and storage. Strong rooms are sealed with signatures from all party representatives. The EC noted that no broken seals, anomalies, or objections were ever reported by the RJD at any stage of the process.

Additionally, every EVM is paired with a VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) unit that allows visible verification of each vote cast. Random VVPAT counting in every constituency serves as a statistical audit, and no mismatches between EVM and VVPAT counts were reported anywhere.

"Therefore, no credible evidence has been presented by Singh. On the contrary, RJD's own agents signed the mock poll certificates, Form 17C (account of votes recorded), and sealing documents without registering a single objection, which completely contradicts the claim now being made," the statement concluded.