No, 'EVM magic' did not help BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar 'win big' in Lok Sabha polls

What is the claim?

A six-second video depicting several individuals standing in a vehicle adorned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) logo, moving through streets, has circulated on social media with the claim that it shows BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The claim suggests that despite purportedly minimal attendance at his campaign events, Chandrasekhar won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with a substantial majority of 3.2 lakh votes, attributing this outcome to the "magic of EVMs (electronic voting machines)." Skeptics have shared the video, questioning the reliability of EVMs.

Archived versions of such claims can be accessed here and here.

Screenshot of viral social media post. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

The claim surfaced shortly after Chandrashekar, former Union Minister of State for Information Technology, responded to X (formerly Twitter) CEO Elon Musk's statement (archived here), where Musk advocated for the ban of EVMs due to the potential risk of hacking. 

Chandrasekhar countered Musk's claim on X (archived here), asserting that Indian EVMs are secure and designed as limited intelligence devices. This exchange sparked an online debate regarding EVM reliability.

However, the circulating claim is false. Chandrashekar did not win the 2024 General Elections in Kerala; he lost to Congress’ Shashi Tharoor.

What are the facts?

Chandrashekar was BJP’s candidate from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), he lost the parliamentary seat to Indian National Congress (INC) leader Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor secured 358,155 votes, winning with a majority of 16,077 votes, while Chandrashekar received 342,078 votes.

Screenshot of election results for the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. (Source: ECI)

The Thiruvananthapuram constituency held elections on April 26, 2024, and the results were announced on June 4, 2024. Tharoor secured victory for the fourth term.

It is worth noting, however, that the video being circulated with the claim is indeed from Chandrasekhar’s election campaign and was broadcast by Asianet News on April 11, 2024. While the video was not found on the Asianet livestream, the original footage is available on Chandrasekhar's Facebook profile, uploaded as a live video on April 12, 2024 (archived here), showcasing his roadshow in Thiruvananthapuram. 

While there are scenes of his vehicle traveling through streets where few people are visible, multiple instances in the video, such as at 17:39 and 19:13, show a significant number of people attending his roadshow, contradicting the viral claims of attendance at his rallies being "less than 10."

The verdict

BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala, lost to Congress candidate and incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor by 16,077 votes. The circulating claim is false and has been disseminated to cast doubt on the reliability of EVMs.