The views expressed in this column are the individualu2019s and donu2019t represent those of the paper W hen it became certain that the Aam Aadmi Party would win the Delhi Assembly elections, veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta, on February 11, tweeted, u201c I suppose we could count this as one more nail hammered hard and deep in the coffin of EVM conspiracy theories.u201d Guptau2019s was a reference to the many variations of the fundamental theory that the party ruling at the Centre could use its influence over the Election Commission of India ( ECI) to rig or hack the Electronic Voting Machine ( EVM) and subvert popular mandate.

These theories gained currency as the Bharatiya Janata Party threw the familiar community voting pattern into disarray to sweep the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Would not the BJP have tampered with the EVMs, in case it was possible to do so, to stave off a humiliating defeat in Delhi? Yes, which is the answer Guptau2019s tweet rightly suggests.