Maharashtra: No mismatch in VVPAT & EVM data, says poll panel

The Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar raised doubts about the outcome of the recently held Maharashtra assembly elections.

BJD has flagged discrepancies in poll data

In Booth no 165 and Booth no 219 of 08-Talsara (ST) AC under Sundargarh PC, the differences are 660 and 784 respectively…” the BJD's petition said (File Photo)

WITH THE Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alleging discrepancies in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Election Commission on Tuesday said no mismatch was found between the votes polled on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the corresponding tally of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in random counting.

The State Election Commission said that as per the EC’s guidelines, it is mandatory to count VVPAT slips of five randomly selected polling stations in each Assembly constituency/ Assembly segment. Accordingly, VVPAT slip count of five randomly selected polling stations from each Assembly constituency was conducted on November 23, it said.

“As per that, slip count of 1,440 VVPAT units from 288 Assembly constituencies of Maharashtra State has been tallied with respective control unit data. There is no discrepancy found between VVPAT slip count and EVM control unit count as per the reports received from the concerned DEOs (district election officers). Due procedure laid by ECI has been followed,” it said in a statement.

After the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition won a landslide victory last month, the MVA has alleged the misuse of EVMs.

Following the poll body’s statement on Tuesday, the MVA parties reiterated their earlier allegation on the voter turnout data, saying there was an increase of 76 lakh votes in the last hour of polling.

“A press statement issued by the EC on their social media handle and other mode of communication without the signature of the State Election Commissioner itself raises more serious questions than the answers,” Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said.

“It is an absolute lie… The EC is trying to mislead the country… There is no such arrangement (about counting or tallying the votes from VVPAT and EVMS) by the ECI… it is only when recounting is sought that they open the five machines. So all this is a whitewash,” NCP (SP) MLA and former minister Jitendra Awhad told The Indian Express.

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Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole said the EC should first answer as to how the count increased by 76 lakh votes in the last hour, and whether it would show CCTV footage of the counting centre.

“The main question is how did 76 lakh votes increase and why the EC is not showing CCTV footage? The EC should be transparent, which it has not been in the whole process. Issuing mere press statement will not help. The EC should act transparently,” Patole said.

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