Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, a newspaper cutout is doing the rounds on social media stating that the voting will take place through ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
The headline in Hindi reads: “आयोग के नए निर्देशः ईवीएम नहीं, बैलेट पेपर से होंगा मतदान” (English translation: “Commission’s new instructions: Voting will be done through ballot paper, not EVM”)
The post with the newspaper clipping reads: “लोकसभा चुनाव के लिए भारत सरकार निर्वाचन आयोग द्वारा की #नई गाइडलाइन जारी #आयोग के नए निर्देश: ईवीएम नहीं बैलेट पेपर से होंगा मतदान।” (English translation: #New guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for the Lok Sabha elections #New instructions of the Commission: Voting will be done through ballot paper and not EVM.”)
The above post can be seen here (archive). Another such post can be seen here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be false.
With a keyword search, the NM team could not find any report/article confirming the veracity of the viral claim. However, scanning through the official social media handles of the Election Commission of India, we could discover a tweet by the poll panel refuting the viral claim.
In a statement, the ECI Clarifies: “A local newspaper in Chhattisgarh has published that ECI has given directions for voting through ballot paper & not EVM in Lok Sabha Election2024. This story is completely fake and baseless. No such directions have been given.”
The above findings establish that the viral claim is false, and the voting will take place through EVMs.
