Rekha Gupta Ji… Have EVMs Been Around for 70 Years?

The nature of many politicians is to speak however they like. A few leaders talk responsibly, but most speak with half-baked knowledge. When making accusations against opponents, they don’t bother with facts. And it’s not just minor politicians who do this — even those in high positions often make careless statements. Recently, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta joined this list.

With Rahul Gandhi repeatedly raising the issue of voter fraud, she lashed out with a strange remark: “For seventy years, Congress has been hacking EVMs. Nothing happened then. But now, if we win, it is suddenly called EVM hacking.” She made this statement during an interview with NDTV.

When asked, “Rahul Gandhi says you are hacking EVMs. What’s your response?” Rekha Gupta replied, “If they win, it’s called people’s mandate. If we win, it’s called EVM hacking. Which book has this formula? Can anyone tell me where Rahul Gandhi studied this? Other than misleading the people of the country, does he know anything else?”

Leaving aside the debate of whether Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of vote tampering are true or false — who told Rekha Gupta that EVMs have existed for 70 years? In which book did she read that? The fact is, EVMs have not been around for seventy years. They were introduced into India’s election system about 43 years ago.

Initially, due to lack of voter awareness and technical issues, election officials struggled with EVM usage. But with large-scale polling and the difficulty of counting paper ballots, EVMs gained importance. Today, except for some local body elections that still use paper ballots, all other elections are conducted through EVMs. In 2013, the VVPAT system was introduced, allowing voters to verify their vote.

The first use of EVMs was on May 19, 1982, in the Paravoor Assembly constituency of Kerala. In 1983, they were used in 10 assembly constituencies across various states. On March 5, 1984, due to technical issues, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to stop using them. Later, in December 1988, the central government formally recognized the need for EVMs by amending the law through Section 61A. This amendment came into effect on March 15, 1989.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court approved their use, and in 1992 the government implemented them with further amendments. They were used in state elections in 1999 and 2004. On October 8, 2013, the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission to gradually implement VVPAT machines.

In India’s first two general elections after Independence, separate ballot boxes were allotted for each candidate. Voters received slips with candidate names and election symbols, and dropped their votes into the allotted box. This system, however, made tampering and rigging easier. Hence, paper ballots were introduced, and that system continued till the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.

But paper ballots too had major flaws — counting took too long, and fraud was still possible. In 1979, ECIL developed a prototype EVM, followed by a micro-computer–based model from BEL. The present EVMs were designed in 1980 by M.B. Haneefa. These were first used in Kerala’s North Paravur by-election in 1982.

Some claim that in 1983, EVMs were also used in Shadnagar constituency of undivided Andhra Pradesh. In 1989, engineers from Bharat Electronics Limited, ECIL, and the Design Centre jointly improved the design. Later, they were used in Goa’s 1999 assembly elections, in by-elections across all states in 2003, and nationwide in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

So, Rekha Gupta Ji — EVMs have not been around for seventy years. They are a product of the 1980s, not of Independent India’s very beginning.