EVM snags mar bypolls, EC says reports ‘exaggerated’
The election commission (EC) on Monday termed as “exaggerated projection of reality” reports of “large scale” failure of electronic voting machines (EVMs) during Lok Sabha and assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Spread over 10 states, voting was held for four Lok Sabha and 10 assembly seats, the outcome of which is expected to set the tone for the 2019 general elections, with opposition parties trying to come together to take on the ruling BJP.
“The replacement of defective EVMs/VVPATs during actual polls is a normal process and does not vitiate the integrity or credibility of the poll process in any way whatsoever,” the EC said in a statement, denying that the snags were suspect.
More than 43% polling was recorded till 4pm in Kairana Lok Sabha segment while 47% votes were cast in the Noorpur assembly constituency.
The Kairana bypoll is seen as a test of the popularity of the ruling BJP in the electorally crucial state of Uttar Pradesh that sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh in February.
His daughter Mriganka Singh is the BJP candidate who is pitted against Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Tabassum Hasan, supported by the Congress, Samajwadi Party and also claims the backing of the Bahujan Samaj Party.
“Voters are being denied their rights but nobody is listening to our complaints,” said Hasan, who listed booths where EVMs or VVPATs allegedly failed to work.
VVPATs are paper-trail machines that allow a voter to check if the vote has been cast correctly.
UP chief electoral officer L Venkateswarlu said faulty EVMs were being replaced. “I want to assure political parties that faulty EVMs are being replaced and in case, they cannot be replaced due to shortage, the EC will not hesitate to order repoll,” he told media.
He was reacting to complaints from the SP and RLD. “Receiving reports of problems in EVMs in the bye-elections but still voters should go to cast votes,” SP chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted.
His party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary blamed the BJP, saying after its defeat in Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls, the party was desperate for a win.
Dismissing the opposition charge as baseless, UP cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma said he, too, had hot complaints about EVMs and the EC would look into them. The Noorpur by-election, too, was held following the death of sitting MLA Lokendra Singh Chauhan of the BJP. His wife, Avani Singh, is the BJP candidate while the SP has fielded Naeemul Hasan.
In Maharashtra, where two Lok Sabha and one assembly seat went to the polls, the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) complained about EVMS.
PLAYING DOWN Poll panel says replacement of defective machines is normal NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW/MUMBAI: