Polling booths in 12 seats in city need more than 1 EVM

Twelve of the 15 Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad district have more than 16 candidates, and the polling booths in these areas will need more than one EVM.

Khairatabad tops with 32 candidates, which requires three electronic voting machines (EVMs) at each polling booth.

Each EVM can accommodate the names of 15 candidates and their party symbols and a button for Nota (None of the above) option.

The GHMC area will require an additional

2,000 ballot units.

A total of 313 candidates are in the fray from the city. There were 350 nomination papers filed but 37 candidates withdrew from the contest on November

22 with the intervention of party leaders.

After Khairatabad, Amberpet follows with 31 candidates, Secunderabad 29, Musheerabad 26, Goshamahal 25, Yakutpura 21, Malakpet 20, Secunderabad Cantonment and Nampally 19, Karwan and Jubilee Hills 18 and Charminar constituency with 16 candidates.

While these constituencies need additional EVMs, Sanathnagar and Chandrayangutta with 15 candidates and Bahadurpura with nine can make do with one EVM per booth.

A senior GHMC official said there was no additional requirement of control units in which votes will be registered and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) will be displayed. He said they had completed the first phase randomisation of EVMs and handed them over to the returning officers for second randomisation.

The corporation has randomised 3,866 EVMs and an additional 20 per cent which would be kept in reserve for use in an emergency.

Given the requirement of more electronic voting machines, the municipal corporation has to deploy one more officer to maintain them.

He said that in 12 constituencies, the size of the voting compartment would be increased to accommodate two to three EVMs, a control unit and VVPAT. The corporation would write to the State Election Commission for additional EVMs.

First level checking of EVMs and VVPATs was carried out at Victory Play Ground, Chaderghat, last month in the presence of representatives of recognised political parties where Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar and Hyderabad District Election Officer M. Dana Kishore took part. All EVMs and VVPATs are stored in the indoor complex of VPG.