Soon after after the second phase of polling ended in Assam, a video surfaced alleging that electronic voting machines (EVMs) were being transported in the car of BJP MLA from Patharkandi, Krishnendu Paul,reports The Quint.
The video was tweeted out by senior Assam-based journalist Atanu Bhuyan, who also reported that the "situation is tense in Patharkandi" because of this incident.
In the video, EVMs can be seen inside a white coloured jeep with the registration number AS 10B 0022. In the video people can be heard saying that the jeep belongs to Krishnendu Paul.
Reacting to the incident, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said that there needs a serious re-evaluation by all national parties on use of EVMs. She also urged the Election Commission to start acting decisively on reports of private vehicles transporting electronic voting machines
Tagging the tweet which carried the video, Priyanka Gandhi said every time there is an election, videos of private vehicles caught transporting EVMs show up. "Unsurprisingly they have the following things in common: 1. The vehicles usually belong to BJP candidates or their associates. 2. The videos are taken as one off incidents and dismissed as aberrations 3. The BJP uses its media machinery to accuse those who exposed the videos as sore losers," the Congress general secretary said.
The fact is that too many such incidents are being reported and nothing is being done about them, she added.
Apart from Priyanka Assam Congress leaders has accused the BJP of trying to steal the election, with several top leaders tweeting about the incident, such as MPs Pradyut Bordoloi and Gaurav Gogoi, party's in-charge for Assam Jitendra Singh and senior leader Rakibul Hussain.
In Twitter Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora has even threatened that the party would boycott the election "if this open loot and rigging of EVMs doesn't stop immediately".
The BJP or the election commission has not responded to this allegation yet.