Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Electronic distraction: On politics and the ‘EVM issue’

​Electronic distraction: On politics and the ‘EVM issue’

The Election Commission has a lot to answer for, but EVMs are not the issue

After consecutive electoral losses, in the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Congress has raised the tempo with regard to its concerns about electronic voting machines (EVM). While there are numerous issues related to the integrity of elections that the Election Commission of India (ECI) needs to come clean on, the risk of electronic tampering (छेड़छाड़ करना) with EVMs is not among them. The Congress is barking up the wrong tree — that too selectively and only when it loses. Some of its party leaders have publicly expressed the view that there is no evidence that suggests the risk of manipulation (हेरफेर), remotely or through preprogramming. At least two Opposition leaders, NC leader and J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, have distanced themselves from the allegations (आरोप). To assume that EVMs are so elaborately (विस्तृत, जटिल) and precisely manipulated that the BJP wins in some States and loses in some others in a detailed conspiracy (साजिश, षड्यंत्र), defies logic. After all, the BJP ended up short of a majority in the 2024 general election. Moreover, all these results, particularly those of Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand are well explained by the social and political dynamics at play.

By repeatedly raising the spectre of EVM manipulation, the real and serious questions of election integrity (ईमानदारी, नैतिकता) are being overlooked. Among them, the possibility of old style, manual capture of EVMs in booths dominated by one party and where polling agents of opponents are absent. This is pertinent (प्रासंगिक, संबंधित) against the backdrop of questions about a massive turnout recorded in many places in the closing hours of polling. This trend has not yet been satisfactorily explained by the ECI. Large-scale additions and deletions of voter names are now a pattern, and the ECI seems to be brazening (Bold and without shame) it out. In Delhi, where elections are now due, allegations of the selective removal of Muslim voters have surfaced. In the Uttar Pradesh by-elections, partisan (पक्षपाती, समर्थक) police actions that restrained (संयम, नियंत्रण) voters expected to vote against the BJP have been controversial (विवादास्पद). The scheduling of elections is another serious question that the ECI has been less than transparent about. For a country that is preparing to conduct all elections in one go, it scheduled the three recent Assembly elections in two batches, and the BJP is the one party that gained the benefits. As is evident, some of these issues are local, some related to the vast capacity gap between the BJP and the Opposition while some others are squarely in the court of the ECI. The Opposition needs to focus on the real questions of election integrity, and an EVM scare should not act as a distraction (Something that prevents concentration or draws attention away).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Tamper (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - छेड़छाड़ करना
English Meaning - To interfere with something in an unauthorized way.

2.Manipulation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - हेरफेर
English Meaning - The act of controlling or influencing something in a skillful or often unfair way.

3.Allegation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - आरोप
English Meaning - A claim that someone has done something wrong, often without proof.

4.Elaborate (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विस्तृत, जटिल
English Meaning - Involving many details or carefully arranged parts.

5.Conspiracy (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - साजिश, षड्यंत्र
English Meaning - A secret plan by a group to do something harmful or unlawful.

6.Integrity (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - ईमानदारी, नैतिकता
English Meaning - The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

7.Pertinent (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - प्रासंगिक, संबंधित
English Meaning - Relevant to a particular matter.

8.Partisan (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - पक्षपाती, समर्थक
English Meaning - A strong supporter of a cause, person, or group, often biased.

9.Controversial (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विवादास्पद
English Meaning - Giving rise to public disagreement or debate.

10.Restraint (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - संयम, नियंत्रण
English Meaning - A measure or condition that keeps someone or something under control.

11.Distraction (Noun)

English Meaning - Something that prevents concentration or draws attention away.

12.Brazen (Adjective)

English Meaning - Bold and without shame.