Gujarat election result: BJP hacked EVMs, would lose otherwise, says Hardik

Patidar leader and Congress ally Hardik Patel said on Sunday that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would lose in Gujarat Assembly election if elections had been conducted in a fair manner.

"If elections have been conducted fairly, BJP is going to lose," Patel, who had reached Somnath Temple to offer prayers on the eve of poll results, told media here.

Reiterating his allegations that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been tampered with, the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti convener said, "ATMs have been hacked, so it is obvious that EVMs can be hacked as well. I have said it repeatedly that if there are some seats where victory margin is 1200-1500 votes then it is due to sabotaged EVMs."

Hardik Patel has alleged that a company had hired 140 engineers to hack 5000 EVMs. The Ahmedabad collector, however, rubbished the allegations as "baseless".

Besides Patel, the Congress has also made similar allegations against BJP.

On Saturday, the Supreme Court dismissed the Congress' plea seeking directions to the Election Commission (EC) to count and cross verify at least 25 percent of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) with votes cast with EVM.