EVM battery percentage affects election results! Know what the allegations are and the Election Commission's response.
The results of the assembly elections in Jammu Kashmir and Haryana are in front of everyone. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress got a chance to celebrate the strength of the National Conference, but in Haryana it was disappointing. Its wait to capture power has increased further. After the defeat in Haryana, Congress raised the issue of battery percentage in EVM. It alleged that where the battery is 99 percent, the BJP wins and where it is 60-70 percent, Congress wins. The Election Commission rejected the allegations of Congress. The EC said that on the day of the launch of EVM, new batteries are put in the control unit in the presence of the candidates and they are sealed.
First, let us know what Congress has alleged. When the results were coming on 8th October, Congress leaders claimed that complaints had come about EVMs from Hisar, Mahendragarh, and Panipat districts and Congress candidates had lost in those EVMs whose battery was 99 percent charged, but Congress won in those EVMs whose battery was 60-70 percent charged.
Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, have you understood this conspiracy? BJP wins where there is 99 percent battery and Congress wins where there is 60-70 percent battery. If this is not a conspiracy then what is it?
What did the Election Commission say about the allegations?
On the allegations of Congress, the Election Commission said that alkaline batteries are used in the control unit of EVMs. On the day of the launch of EVMs, new batteries are inserted in the control unit in the presence of candidates and sealed. Initially, the battery gives a voltage between 7.5 to 8 volts. Therefore, when the voltage is above 7.4, the battery capacity is shown as 99 percent. With the use of EVMs, their battery capacity and consequently the voltage decrease. When the voltage goes below 7.4, the battery capacity is displayed from 98 percent to 10 percent.
The control unit works as long as the battery has a voltage of more than 5.8 volts. This happens when the battery capacity is more than 10 percent and a battery replacement warning appears on the control unit display. This is similar to the indication displayed in a vehicle when the engine is running on very little fuel left.
What is EVM?
An EVM consists of three units. A ballot unit, for the officer-in-charge. A control unit that ensures that a voter can vote only once. A voter-verifiable-paper-audit-trail (VVPAT) unit, which generates a paper ballot. The control unit is kept next to the officer-in-charge while the other two units are placed in the polling compartment for voters to make their choices privately.
Every control unit and ballot unit is given a unique ID number, which is imprinted on each unit. A list containing the ID numbers of the EVMs (balloting unit and control unit) used at a particular polling station is prepared and provided to the contesting candidates and their agents.
The control unit of EVM can store the election results in its memory for 10 years. The EVMs from 2000 to 2005 could cast a maximum of 3850 votes. However, the new version of EVMs can cast more than 2000 votes.