Days before counting, Congress Pune candidate says strong room norms violated

Agarkar, said when they had gone for scrutiny of the strong room, they had found that the warehouse where the EVMS were to be kept was not sealed as per the norms of the Manuals on EVM (Electronic Voting Machine).

“The strong room for Kothrud, had two doors as against the single entry and exit norm of the manual,”he said. Similarly the windows as per the manual was to be sealed with brick and mortar or concrete but in Pune it was done with metal sheet, Agarkar said.

Concerns were also raised about the number of counting tables which Agarkar said was not as per the norms being followed in other parts of the state.

Each Assembly constituency, he said, would have equal number of tables but in Pune the same norm was not followed. “We have spoken to our counterparts in Lok Sabha seats of Nagpur, Ramtek, Kolhapur where each Assembly seat has the same number of table. The unequal distribution of tables in Pune is a matter of concern,” he said.

Dhangekar, the Congress MLA from Kasba constituency, is pitted against Pune’s former mayor Murlidhar Mohol who is the BJP candidate for the Pune seat.
Since 2014, Pune has been electing a BJP MP.

Diwase, on his part, said that all the directives of the Election Commission of India (ECI) has been followed. “All the protocol about the process has been followed in the spirit and letter of the law,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jogendra Katyare, Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) of Khed Rajgurunagar has raised concerns about the functioning about Diwase.

Katyare, claimed interference of Khed Alandi MLA Dilip Mohite and Diwase who he claimed was trying to interfere with Katyare’s work. Katyare also claimed that grounds were made for his transfer which were contrary to the norms of the ECI. Diwase denied the allegations.