Use EVMs with paper trail for polls: AAP

Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday asked the state election commission to conduct the April 23 municipal polls in Delhi only through VVPAT-enabled electronic voting machines (EVMs), besides seeking withdrawal of all EVMs sourced from Rajasthan, which the election body is planning to deploy in the civic polls.

In a letter to state election commissioner SK Srivastava, AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also asked the election body to provide all political parties an opportunity to technically examine some of the EVMs from the lot that will be used in the MCD polls.

“All EVMs sourced from Rajasthan should be immediately withdrawn as they have been tampered with. All state and nationally recognised parties should be allowed technical examination of some of the EVMs, which are being used for MCD elections. MCD elections should be held only and only with VVPAT machines,” Kejriwal letter reads, adding that the SEC should accept his demand “as promptly as you have been accepting BJP’s demands so far”.

The AAP has been crying foul over use of EVMs in elections ever since its dismal performance in the assembly elections this year. The party had emerged a distant second in Punjab where it was confident of forming government in the state, and had failed to open its account in Goa.

Over the past few weeks, Kejriwal has been demanding use of paper ballot for all elections in future and had even requested the election body to postpone MCD polls if it requires time to prepare for changing the mode of elections. In his letter, the Delhi CM also questioned the SEC for importing first generation EVMs from Rajasthan when Delhi already has enough EVMs to conduct the municipal elections.