Election Commission flags perfume, glue, or ink on EVM buttons as a serious electoral offense before West Bengal and Tamil Nadu voting
EVM tampering
The Election Commission of India has firmly warned that applying perfume, glue, or ink on Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) buttons is a serious electoral offense.
Firstly, the Commission clarified that such acts amount to tampering with voting machines. It emphasized that some political workers have recently used these methods to check whether voters supported their candidates. Therefore, the Commission has taken a strict stance against such practices.
Meanwhile, officials have directed Presiding Officers to stay alert at all polling stations. They must tell the Sector Officer or higher election authorities right away if they see anything suspicious. Also, the Commission has told them to make sure that all candidate buttons on the ballot unit are easy to see and not covered in tape, glue, ink, or chemicals.
Moreover, the Commission highlighted that applying any substance on EVM buttons can compromise the secrecy of voting. As a result, it will treat every such incident as EVM tampering and take strict legal action. If required, authorities may even order re-polling in affected booths.
At the same time, these guidelines come just before polling in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on April 23.
Specifically, West Bengal will conduct first-phase voting across 152 constituencies in 16 districts. A total of 1,478 candidates are contesting in this phase. Additionally, the state has 36,077,171 voters, including 18,499,496 men, 17,577,210 women, and 465 transgender voters.
Overall, the Election Commission has reinforced its commitment to free and fair elections by strictly prohibiting any attempt to interfere with EVM functioning.
EVM tampering
