EVM Access To Winning Candidate's Relative: "Fraud At Highest Level," Says Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi

Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has alleged “fraud at the highest level” in the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha election results. Chaturvedi’s statement follows the Vanrai Police Station’s ongoing investigation into the case. According to Mid Day report, the Vanrai police have discovered that Mangesh Pandilkar, a relative of winning candidate Ravindra Waikar, used a mobile phone connected to the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). This phone was utilized to generate OTPs to unlock the EVMs at the NESCO Centre on June 4.

Ravindra Waikar of Shiv Sena (Shinde) narrowly won the election by a margin of 48 votes, defeating Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Amol Gajanan Kirtikar in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Chaturvedi highlighted several key concerns:

• She claimed there was undue pressure on the police not to file an FIR, a request supported by both Amol Kirtikar and two independent candidates.
• Despite the candidate’s right to review CCTV footage from counting day, Mumbai Suburban District Collector has denied this request to Kirtikar, who the Election Commission claims lost by a margin of 48 votes.
• She pointed out irregularities in the vote counting process, noting that the announcement of votes was halted after the 18th or 19th round. After a pause, Ravindra Waikar was declared the winner post the final round.

“This is a fraud at the highest level and yet the Election Commission of India continues to sleep,” Chaturvedi remarked. She further alleged that a relative of the ‘manipulated’ winner was caught carrying a mobile phone with the capability to unlock the EVM machine. Chaturvedi warned that without ECI intervention, this could become the biggest election result scam since the Chandigarh Mayor election, vowing to take the battle to court.

Mid Day reported the police have issued CRPC 41A notices to Pandilkar and Dinesh Gurav, the EC’s ENCORE (poll portal) operator. The phone has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for data retrieval and fingerprint analysis. According to police officials, the incident occurred during the vote counting for the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency.

Senior inspector Rampiyare Rajbhar confirmed the investigation’s focus on the phone’s call records and other potential uses. Statements from other candidates have been recorded, and further cooperation from the accused is being monitored.

An FIR was registered on June 14 by an Election Commission officer following complaints from rival candidates Kirtikar, Arora, and Bharat Shah. The police are now scrutinizing CCTV footage from the NESCO centre to trace the phone’s entry and identify additional suspects.

On June 4, during vote counting at the NESCO centre, Kirtikar was initially leading. However, the inclusion of Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) votes, unlocked using the same mobile phone, shifted the lead to Waikar. This raised suspicions of foul play.