A video showing a polling agent press the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) button five times for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate during a mock poll is being shared with the misleading claim that it was captured during voting in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election.
BOOM found that the incident happened in Assam's Karimganj where the mock poll video went viral as actual voting.
In the viral video, a man can be seen pressing the EVM button five times in a row for the BJP candidate and sitting Member of Parliament (MP) Kripanath Mallah.
The video is being shared on X with a caption in Hindi which translates to, "Watch by pressing the EVM button, Is BJP being made to win?? The Election Commission @ECISVEEP must explain what is happening ,,??? I am the main speaker of those Shayari elections I would like to ask the commissioner whether this This way you can defeat BJP on 400 seats. Will people make me win??"
(In Hindi - देखिए EVM बटन को खटा-खट दबा कर, बीजेपी को जीत दिलाई जा रही है?? चुनाव आयोग @ECISVEEP को स्पष्ट करना चाहिए कि क्या हो रहा है ,,??? मैं उन शायरी बोलने वाले मुख्य चुनाव आयुक्त जी से पूछना चाहती हूं ,कि क्या इस तरीके से भाजपा को 400 सीट पर आप. लोग जीत दिलवाएंगे???)
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video was captured during a mock poll and the votes cast were cleared before actual polling began.
A mock poll is conducted prior to the official polling as part of the standard procedure to ensure the integrity of the electoral process, and the EVMs are reset to zero before the commencement of actual polling.
After the video went viral, the District Election Officer (DEO) clarified that the viral video was taken during a mock poll; the DEO further stated that the incident was gross violation of ECI instructions on prohibition of carrying mobile phone inside the polling station.
The Indian Express reported on the incident stating that the office of the District Election Officer stated that the video had been recorded during a “mock poll” before voting officially began.
We found two press releases by the DEO posted on the X handle of District Commissioner, Karimganj. In the first press release posted by the handle on April 28, 2024, the DEO confirmed that it was taken during mock poll and later on Close Result Clear (CRC) was done before the start of the actual polling.
The release further stated that the person visible in the viral video is Abdul Sahid from Chenjur who is the Polling agent of Abdul Hameed, an independent candidate contesting from the Karimganj Lok Sabha constituency.
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The second press release by the DEO stated that there has been no violation of procedure during the conduct of actual poll. It further stated that for violation of ECI instructions, disciplinary action has been taken against the Presiding Officer and lawful action would also be taken against the polling agent who violated the instruction of not carrying the mobile phone inside the polling station.
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