Maharashtra: As Cong pushes for ballots, EVM-VVPAT tally matches in Nanded
Nanded district administration verified 75 VVPAT machines with EVM votes and found it tallies; however, after their rout in assembly polls, MVA has upped the ante against EVMs
Even as the Opposition parties are crying foul over the ruling Mahayuti alliance's stupendous victory in Maharashtra assembly polls alleging EVM malpractice, a district administration in Nanded has verified 75 VVPAT machines with votes on EVMs and found no difference in the tally.
The candidate-wise votes obtained on EVMs from five centres in each assembly constituency in the district were tallied with VVPATs, said the authorities in Nanded.
This development comes even as Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Supreme Court to take note of the growing 'public demand' for ballot paper voting due to "doubts" about the mandate in assembly elections.
After their rout in the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly elections, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), upped the ante against electronic voting machines (EVMs) alleging that EVM malpractices had taken place in the polls.
The MVA has demanded for a return of the ballot papers system to restore public trust in the electoral process.
Also read: Maharashtra villagers cancel ‘ballot repoll’ plan after police deployment
Tallying EVM votes at Nanded
According to the Nanded district collector Abhijit Raut, the counting and verification exercise of the EVM votes was conducted on the instructions given by the Election Commission. The candidate-wise votes obtained on EVMs from five centres in each assembly constituency in the district were tallied with VVPATs, he said.
The counting of votes at 75 centres in the district, 30 Lok Sabha and 45 assembly, was flawless.
According to the authorities, the centres were selected by drawing lots in the presence of candidates' representatives and election observers. During the counting, slips from five VVPATs per assembly constituency area were counted physically and verified with votes from EVMs.
For the assembly elections, 45 polling stations (five each in nine constituencies of Nanded) and the Lok Sabha by-election, 30 polling stations, five each in six constituencies, were verified, they said in a press release.
Also read: Fuming MVA plans nationwide protest against EVMs after Maharashtra rout
Demand for ballot paper voting
The MVA faced an embarrassing defeat with the BJP-led Mahayuti walking away with 230 out of 288 seats in the Maharashtra assembly elections.
On Sunday, Patole claimed the Mahayuti victory didn't reflect the mandate of the people.
"There is a widespread confusion among people about the new state government. A strong sentiment suggests that the government doesn't reflect the people's mandate," Patole told reporters.
Several leaders from the Opposition parties, including NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, visited Markadwadi village in Solapur district to express solidarity with villagers who had tried to hold a mock "repoll" using ballot papers while questioning the EVM credibility.
"This public sentiment is not confined to Markadwadi but resonates across villages in Maharashtra. A demand for conducting voting through ballot papers is growing, with village sabhas passing resolutions to this effect," Patole claimed.
He appealed to the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to take cognisance of this public sentiment.
The Congress leader, who won the electoral contest by a wafer-thin margin, said the doubt among electors about their vote reaching the candidate of their choice should be resolved.
"Residents of Markadwadi had resolved to conduct a mock re-poll using ballot papers, but the government, with the help of the Election Commission and police, suppressed their efforts and filed cases against them," he alleged.
Patole sought the EC's clarification on "the addition of 7.6 million votes".
"They have failed to provide a satisfactory explanation. Manipulating votes is akin to the daylight murder of democracy. If such dissatisfaction arises in a democracy, it must be addressed. The Opposition will fight for this demand in the legislature and on the streets," Patole added.
The Supreme Court last month dismissed a plea seeking to revert to paper ballot voting in elections in the country, saying allegations of tampering with EVMs were being raked up only when people lose polls.
"What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs are not tampered with. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale.
Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions, including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls.
(With inputs from agencies)