New Delhi: The Congress party has raised serious concerns over the integrity of the Haryana election results, accusing the ruling BJP of benefiting from tampered Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). On Wednesday, a Congress delegation, including prominent leaders such as Bhupinder Singh Hooda, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken, Jairam Ramesh, and Ashok Gehlot, met with Election Commission (EC) officials to press for an investigation into alleged EVM hacking. The party alleged that EVMs with battery levels at 99% disproportionately registered votes in favor of the BJP, while EVMs with battery levels of 60-70% recorded more votes for Congress.

The Congress has submitted 20 complaints to the EC regarding this issue, with written complaints from seven constituencies: Karnal, Dabwali, Panipat city, Hodal, Kalka, Narnaul, and Rewari. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera highlighted that additional complaints from 13 other constituencies would be presented within 48 hours. The party demanded that EVMs with unusually high battery levels be sealed and secured until a thorough investigation is completed.

Congress leader Uday Bhan expressed skepticism over the possibility of a machine retaining 99% battery charge after significant usage, further suggesting that these machines might have been tampered with. The delegation also urged the EC to match the VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) copies with the EVM vote tallies to ensure transparency.

The Election Commission has assured the Congress that it will look into the matter and consult with returning officers from each constituency before responding to the complaints. Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who participated in the meeting via video conferencing, supported the party's call for a thorough probe.

As the Congress continues to push for answers, it remains to be seen how the EC will address these allegations of electoral malpractice.