‘Voters are confused’: Rohit Pawar alleges EVM glitches and cash distribution by BJP during PCMC polls

Pawar expressed concern about the arrangement of the EVMs, saying it reflects confusion among election officials. “Instead of organising the EVMs in alphabetical order, they are placed inconsistently, sometimes ‘D’ is positioned before ‘B’ or ‘A.’ This has also created confusion among voters,” he said.

“The biggest issue we are facing is that voters are finding their names missing at the polling booths. Many are asking our party workers where their names have gone. It appears that voters from the same family have been assigned to different polling centres. This appears to be a deliberate attempt to discourage voters from turning out to vote. All of this is being done to favour a particular party. However, no matter what tactics they use, the BJP will not come to power in Pimpri-Chinchwad,” he alleged.

Pawar said BJP workers were spotted distributing voter slips to citizens within 100 meters of the polling centres, adding that it is now afraid of losing power.

“Initially, they claimed they would win 100 seats, then increased that number to 125. Now, they say that if they can elect a mayor, it will be considered an achievement. This fear has led them to distribute money last night in an attempt to sway voters. However, no matter what they do, the people have decided that the NCP will return to power in Pimpri-Chinchwad,” he said.

Election officials from the PCMC, however, reported only minor issues with EVMs at two to three locations, but said these were resolved in under half an hour. “Otherwise, no significant complaints have been received from any area of the city,” said an election official.