“It is suspicious…”: Supriya Sule Raises Alarm Over EVM Security in Baramati

NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule on Monday expressed apprehension over the security of Electronic Voting Machines in Baramati, where she is competing for the Lok Sabha seat against Sunetra Pawar, the spouse of Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Sule took to social media to share a video alleging that the security cameras at the storage facility for the EVMs, following the voting process, had been deactivated for a period of 45 minutes earlier in the day.

Describing the incident as "highly suspicious", Sule criticized it as a major lapse on the part of the Election Commission. “After the polling of Baramati Lok Sabha Constituency, the CCTV in Godawan where the EVMs are kept was switched off for 45 minutes this morning. It is suspicious that the CCTV is switched off where a very important thing like EVM is kept. Also, this is a big laxity. When the election representatives contacted the concerned authorities and administration, no satisfactory answers were received. Apart from this, technician is also not available at the said place. Also our representatives are not allowed to inspect the EVM status. This is very serious. The Election Commission should immediately take notice of this and announce the reasons why the CCTV was closed. Apart from this, appropriate action should be taken against those responsible for the incident,” posted Suke on “X”.

According to Laxmikant Khabiya, the election representative of Supriya Sule in Baramati, the CCTVs were turned off between 10:30 am and 11:15 am at the Food Corporation of India's godown, where the EVMs from the constituency are stored. Khabiya expressed concern over this and stated that their party representatives were not being allowed to inspect the status of the EVMs stored there.

The election authorities provided a clarification, stating that a cable of the cameras had to be removed for a short period during some electrical work on the premises in the morning. Baramati returning officer Kavita Dwivedi explained that an electrician at the godown had removed a cable, leading to the temporary shutdown of the display unit.

The incident, which occurred in the EVM strongroom for the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, has sparked outcry from the Opposition Nationalist Congress Party (SP). The NCP (SP) worker who noticed the CCTV malfunction raised concerns and reported the matter to local officials and party leaders.

Supriya Sule criticized the incident, demanding immediate action from the Election Commission. She emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in the electoral process. However, there has been no response from Sunetra A. Pawar's side regarding the accusations.